The Latest: PM says Italy searching for Afghan refugees

Italian Premier Mario Draghi says diplomats are trying to locate Afghans who fled from their homeland to Iran and other nations bordering Afghanistan

ROME — Italian Premier Mario Draghi says diplomats are trying to locate Afghans who fled from their homeland to Iran and other nations bordering Afghanistan. Draghi said Thursday that “fortunately” many Afghans had escaped, but his country wants to locate those who worked with Italy. Before Italy ended its airlift from Kabul on Aug. 27, it had evacuated nearly 5,000 Afghans who had worked with the Italian military during its 20-year-deployment in Afghanistan as well as their families and others deemed at risk now under Taliban rule. Draghi didn’t say how many Afghans his country was seeking. He added that Afghans who have already reached Italy are immediately being given refugee status and praised Italian communities integrating them into local society.