An Italian soldier was slightly injured on Thursday when his patrol came under fire in the latest in a series of attacks on the country's peacekeeping contingent in western Afghanistan.
The marine corps soldier was taking part in a normal patrol near Shindad, about 70 km south of Herat, during the morning when unidentified attackers opened fire, military sources in Rome said.
The wounded soldier, whose name was withheld by authorities, was hurt in an arm but did not require emergency medical care.
Defence Minister Arturo Parisi expressed relief that the consequences of the attack on the soldier were relatively "limited".
Thursday's incident, near a town where the Italian contingent recently built a new school, came only four days after another attack against Italians in western Afghanistan.
A rudimentary bomb exploded as an Italian convoy moved along a road in the province of Farah. No one was injured.
In the same province an Italian soldier was slightly injured on March 20 by gunfire from automatic weapons. On March 8 an Italian patrol was attacked with rocket launchers near Kabul.
The attacks have come amid a general upsurge in guerrilla activity in western Afghanistan and a major offensive by NATO forces in the south of the country.
Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema noted recently that the attacks were steadily moving closer to Herat, where 750 of Italy's 2,000 soldiers in Afghanistan are stationed.
DEBATE IN ITALY.
The worsening security situation is one of the reasons that some leftwingers in Premier Romano Prodi's centre-left coalition believe Italian troops should be pulled out.
Communists and pacifists argue that the soldiers were sent to take part in a peacekeeping mission and that the situation is now practically one of war.
Despite these feelings, centre-left senators voted compactly on Tuesday to keep the Italian contingent in Afghanistan for at least another six months.
US officials in Washington "welcomed" the outcome of the vote and was "pleased at Italy's continued participation in NATO operations in Afghanistan".
"America appreciates what Italy is doing to help the Afghan people," US Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Fried said.
NATO also expressed satisfaction.
There have also been polemics over the rules of engagement governing what sort of defensive action Italian soldiers can take, with some in the opposition calling for changes and also for more equipment for self-defence.
D'Alema said however that Italy had no power to change the rules and that this decision lay with NATO but he did say that they would get more equipment.
