Italian soldier killed in Afghan attack

An Italian soldier died on Thursday after being wounded in an attack in Afghanistan, the Italian defence ministry said. The soldier was named as 24-year-old Tiziano Chierotti from the Italian Riviera resort of San Remo. He was wounded in a shooting at Bakwa in Farah province with three other soldiers who were injured, a statement said. In the incident three other soldiers were shot in the legs. "The soldier who was seriously wounded in the abdomen was transferred from Farah field hospital to a medical centre at Camp Bastion," the statement added. The condition of the three other soldiers was not life-threatening. In a message to Chierotti's family Defence Minister Giampaolo Di Paola said the deceased soldier was "a generous and courageous man". Fifty-two Italian soldiers have so far died in the 11-year Afghan conflict, according to an AFP count. Italy is scaling back its involvement in the war in Afghanistan and plans to pull out its 4,000 troops which are part of NATO's US-led International Assistance Force by the end of 2014. The reports came as Afghan and international military sources said that British troops had killed two of their own soldiers in a "friendly fire" incident in Afghanistan while two American soldiers were shot dead by an Afghan ally.