ROME (AP) — An Italian intelligence agent who was kidnapped with a colleague in Afghanistan and wounded during a rescue operation died Thursday, the Defense Ministry said.

Six years after US forces began fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan, new figures have been released showing the violence there is worse than ever.

Iranian and Indian foreign ministers in a meeting on the sidelines of the 62nd UN General Assembly meeting in New York expressed hope about finalizing a multibillion dollar pipeline project which is due to take Iran’s gas to India via Pakistan.