Taliban Urge Italian Troop Pullout To Free Reporter
March 10, 2007
The Taliban kidnapped Daniele Mastrogiacomo on March 3 (file photo) (epa)
The Taliban said on March 9 they would free Daniele Mastrogiacomo of the newspaper "La Repubblica" if he could prove he was not a spy.
But a Taliban spokesman, Mullah Hayatullah Khan, said the Taliban changed their mind after Italy's lower house of parliament voted in favor of keeping Italian troops in Afghanistan.
Separately, a Taliban commander, Mullah Dadullah, told AFP news agency that the militia had set a seven-day deadline for Italy to set a date for withdrawal.
The Italian lower house of parliament on March 8 voted to keep on 1,900 Italian troops. However, the extension still has to be approved by the upper house, the Senate, later this month.
Prime Minister Romano Prodi's government has a very narrow majority in the Senate.
(Reuters, AFP)