This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/south_asia/6422671.stm

The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
Taleban 'hold Briton and Afghans' Taleban 'seize Italian reporter'
(about 6 hours later)
The Taleban say they have kidnapped a British journalist and two Afghan nationals in Helmand province in southern Afghanistan. The Taleban say they have kidnapped an Italian journalist and two Afghan nationals in Helmand province in southern Afghanistan.
A source close to a regional Taleban commander told the BBC that the three men were seized after entering an area of Helmand without permission.A source close to a regional Taleban commander told the BBC that the three men were seized after entering an area of Helmand without permission.
He accused them of spying and said they were being detained at a Taleban base.He accused them of spying and said they were being detained at a Taleban base.
A Foreign Office spokesman in London has said they are checking the reports of the kidnappings. The Italian, who the Taleban initially said was British, is reportedly working for Italy's La Repubblica newspaper.
Reports of the abductions emerged as Nato and Afghan forces launched what they said was their biggest joint offensive against the Taleban in the south of the country.Reports of the abductions emerged as Nato and Afghan forces launched what they said was their biggest joint offensive against the Taleban in the south of the country.
The operation is centred on Helmand, a known stronghold of the Taleban.The operation is centred on Helmand, a known stronghold of the Taleban.
Mullah DadullahMullah Dadullah
The three men were detained in Nad Ali in Helmand, one of the main opium poppy areas, because they had entered the district without permission, a local Taleban spokesman said.The three men were detained in Nad Ali in Helmand, one of the main opium poppy areas, because they had entered the district without permission, a local Taleban spokesman said.
A car, satellite phones and cameras had also been taken and the men were being questioned at a Taleban base, he said.A car, satellite phones and cameras had also been taken and the men were being questioned at a Taleban base, he said.
He said they were in the custody of the regional commander, Mullah Dadullah.He said they were in the custody of the regional commander, Mullah Dadullah.
The two Afghans were named as Ajmal and Syed Agha. Both are known as translators who work with western journalists, and they have been reported missing. The Taleban had initially named the journalist as John Nichol and said he was British, but La Repubblica newspaper said their reporter Daniele Mastrogiacomo was missing, the BBC's Alastair Leithead in Kabul says.
The British man was named by the Taleban as John Nichol, but as yet there is little other information on him. The two Afghans were named as Ajmal and Syed Agha.
The British, American and Afghan authorities in Kabul are trying to establish who he is and who he may have been working for, says the BBC's Alastair Leithead, in Kabul. Both are known as translators who work with western journalists, and they have been reported missing.
The man is not the British journalist and author of the same name, who was previously a RAF navigator captured in Iraq in 1991 - he is currently in the UK. An Italian photographer was kidnapped in Helmand last October and held for three weeks before being released unharmed, our correspondent says.