Afghan television airs video of kidnapped Italian

KABUL - A private Afghan television station aired video footage on Sunday of an Italian aid worker kidnapped by gunmen in Kabul earlier this month.

Wearing a headscarf, the 32-year-old Clementina Cantoni, introduced herself in the video broadcast by Tolo TV. She was flanked by two masked gunmen.

There was confusion over the timing of tape as she said: "Today is May 28, Sunday".

She mentioned her close family members' names on the orders of the gunmen and looked pale in the brief tape and did not make any appeal for her freedom.

The armed men had pointed their assault rifles at her in the tape. Tolo did not say how it got the tape.

Cantoni, who works for CARE International, was abducted on May 16 by four armed men who stopped her vehicle on a street in the centre of the capital.

No Afghan government official could be reached for immediate comment, but the government has said Kabul and the Italian and US governments, Nato-led peacekeepers, religious leaders and tribal elders were working for her freedom.

The government has refused to identify the abductors and has showed optimism for her release.

The Italian embassy and Care International have declined to comment on efforts to free Cantoni.

Cantoni's abduction raised fresh fears among Kabul's 2000-strong foreign community of Iraq-style kidnappings by anti-government insurgents or criminals.

Officials say they believe Cantoni's kidnappers are criminals, not Islamic militants.

Since the kidnapping, Afghanistan's top religious scholars have issued a fatwa, or religious decree, ordering the safety of foreign visitors.

- REUTERS