An Italian freelance photographer and his assistant have been abducted in southern Afghanistan, an Afghan official said Sunday, according to AP. Gabriele Torsello and his Afghan translator were abducted by five armed men on Saturday as they drove from Lashkar Gah, the capital of the southern Helmand province, to Kandahar, an official in Helmand said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. The official said he spoke to witnesses. The two were in their car when they were abducted, the official said. Torsello earlier spent time in Musa Qala, another restive area in Helmand province, the official said.
