Authorities in Afghanistan say they believe that criminals not militants were behind the kidnapping of an Italian aid worker in the capital, Kabul, yesterday evening.
Clementina Cantoni, 32, was travelling in the city when she was grabbed from her car by four gunmen and driven away at about 5pm Irish time.
The 32-year-old was working for the aid agency CARE International. She managed a project that provided food and income for 11,000 widows and their children.
Hundreds of the widows held a protest in the Afghan capital this morning demanding her release.
No one has yet claimed responsibility for the abduction.
