British special forces commandos were involved in a dramatic operation at dawn yesterday to rescue two Italian soldiers kidnapped by the Taleban in western Afghanistan.

The involvement of two teams of Special Boat Service (SBS) commandos in the successful mission to free the Italians from their captors emerged in Rome when officials from the Italian Defence Ministry announced the successful conclusion of the rescue operation.

Defence sources in London disclosed that the SBS commandos had been monitoring the suspected hideout where the two Italian soldiers and their interpreter were being held. The SBS surveillance teams were in Lynx helicopters, and when the Taleban kidnappers emerged in two vehicles from their compound the British special forces commandos opened fire.

One team was dropped nearby, and during a firefight all eight of the Taleban hostage-takers were killed. The two Italian soldiers and the interpreter were injured, one of them in the head, but the defence sources said that their wounds were not life-threatening.

The secret operation was approved at the highest political level in Rome. There was intelligence that time was running out for the hostages.

The defence sources in London said that although Italian special forces led the rescue mission, a request was made for the SBS to assist. The SBS, which mostly consists of commandos from the Royal Marines, represent Britain’s special forces presence in Afghanistan. The SAS, the army equivalent, is deployed in Iraq.

The Italian newspaper La Repubblica, confusing the two services, praised the “legendary British SAS”. It said that the kidnappers had struck a deal with Maulvi Abdul Hamid Ishaqzai, a Taleban commander, for the handover of the two soldiers, “thus transforming a criminal kidnapping into a political one”. It also reported that the two Italians had been wounded when fired on by the kidnappers, who had tried to kill them as the commandos moved in.

In the past the Italians have been accused of giving in to the Taleban by agreeing to pay ransoms for kidnapped citizens. Yesterday’s robust approach was welcomed in London. “It was a lot better than paying out money for the hostages’ release,” a Whitehall official said.

The two Italian soldiers and their interpreter had been seized by the Taleban near the Shindand district in Herat, the main city in western Afghanistan.

Electronic surveillance of the area, which included eavesdropping on Taleban communications, revealed that the hostages and their captors had moved to a compound in the neighbouring province of Farah.

Arturo Parisi, the Italian Defence Minister, said that the decision to launch the rescue mission was made after intelligence suggested that the kidnappers were preparing to head south from Farah in two cars.

With the Italian special forces taking up positions on the ground, the SBS hovered overhead in Lynx helicopters.

As soon as the two vehicles emerged, with the hostages in the back, the SBS fired at the tyres and forced them to a halt. With one Lynx remaining overhead, the other helicopter landed its SBS passengers, who joined the Italian special forces units in confronting the Taleban.

The Nato International Security Assistance Force confirmed that all “eight or nine” kidnappers were killed.

There are about 2,000 Italian soldiers based in western Afghanistan. The Italian Defence Ministry disclosed last night that the two captured soldiers were agents of SISMI, the Italian military intelligence. It was reported that they may have been betrayed by their driver and drove into a Taleban ambush.

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