Three Italian soldiers were injured Friday in a gunbattle with insurgents in western Afghanistan, officials said, DPA reported.
News reports said one of the Italians was in a serious condition, but a military spokesman said he could not confirm or deny the reports.
An Italian military helicopter was also damaged in the clash which took place near Bala Murghab, a spokesman with NATO's Regional Command West in Herat, Antoni Caliandro, told Italian television news channel Sky TG 24.
In a separate incident earlier Friday in Herat, a suicide bomber detonated explosives near a Regional Command West base, injuring three Afghan soldiers, Caliandro said.
Around 3,000 Italian soldiers are currently deployed in Afghanistan as part of the West's military mission.