Two Italians who were held hostage by Islamic State militants in Libya have arrived in Rome after being released in a raid.
Gino Pollicardo and Filippo Calcagno were freed from a house following an assault by local fighters on an IS hideout in Sabratha on Friday.
"We are free and physically OK, but psychologically we are devastated," said a handwritten note written by Mr Pollicardo.
The pair were among four Italians working for construction company Bonatti who were kidnapped last July near an industrial complex in the city of Mellitah.
The two other captives, Fausto Piano and Salvatore Failla, were allegedly murdered by IS during a firefight on Wednesday between the jihadists and local militia fighters.
Other reports said the pair were shot dead shortly before the clashes.
Their bodies have been taken to Tripoli for eventual repatriation.
Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has said any military intervention in Libya by his troops would first need the approval of parliament, and that Rome would not be rushed into action.
The murder of the two Italian hostages in its troubled former colony has led to increased pressure at home for the country to send in special forces.
But Mr Renzi said: "This is not the time to force things, this is the time for good sense and composure."
The prime minister repeated that a move against IS was on hold as long as Libya has not formed a unified government with the authority to ask for help against IS.
Libya fell into chaos after dictator Muammar Gaddafi was toppled and killed in 2011, and since 2014 its divisions have only increased.
The country split into two governments and parliaments - the internationally recognised one in the country's east and an Islamist-backed one in Tripoli.
A new UN-brokered unity government is awaiting endorsement by the eastern parliament.
But the parliament failed to meet last month as scheduled, and there are set to be talks on Monday.
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