Blast kills Italian soldier in Afghanistan

An explosive device killed an Italian soldier and wounded another as their vehicle was passing in western Afghanistan Saturday, the defence ministry and military command said. The dead soldier was driving the armoured vehicle in Farah province, a few kilometres from the town of Bakwa. His companion was wounded in the leg and evacuated by helicopter to a US military hospital, but his life was not threatened. Foreign Minister Franco Frattini vowed that Rome would "finish the job" of ensuring security so that Afghanistan could move to democracy. The Italian contingent in the international forces in Afghanistan, 3,800 strong, is in charge in the western region, including the city of Herat. The death was the first this month among the foreign troops in Afghanistan, following a higher than average toll in June, when 65 were killed out of 283 since the beginning of the year.