An Italian reporter kidnapped in Afghanistan a week ago is alive and his captors have been identified, Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema said Monday.
D'Alema said La Repubblica corrispondent Daniele Mastrogiacomo was in the hands of a Taliban group in southern Afghanistan.
He said Italy was working "through humanitarian channels" to secure Mastrogiacomo's release.
"It isn't a fully fledged negotiation but there are contacts to create the conditions for the hostage's release," he said.
An Italian aid group, Emergency, runs four hospitals in Afghanistan.
Last September it was instrumental in the release of photo-journalist Gabriele Torsello.
"It's a very difficult situation and requires great discretion" D'Alema said, noting that NATO had launched its biggest offensive since the 2001 war that toppled the Taliban in the lawless area where Mastrogiacomo went missing.
Premier Romano Prodi said Italy knew who the kidnappers were but didn't know what they wanted.
