Italy has agreed to let armed US drones take off from an air base in Sicily on a case-by-case basis for defensive missions against Islamic State militants in North Africa, Prime Minister Matteo Renzi
Italy has agreed to let armed US drones take off from an air base in Sicily on a case-by-case basis for defensive missions against Islamic State militants in North Africa, Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said on Tuesday.
“If it is a matter of operations against terrorists, against potential Islamic State attackers, there is a close relationship between us and the other allies, above all the Americans,” Mr Renzi said in an interview with RTL radio. The Prime Minister, who has repeatedly said Italy would not take part in military strikes in Libya without the express request of a recognised government, said they would be authorised “case by case”.
An Italian defence ministry official said late on Monday the agreement would allow defensive missions and not offensive action, such as the attack on a suspected militant training camp in Sabratha, Libya, that killed dozens last week. Italy will authorise departures from the Sigonella base near Catania only if each mission’s aim is to protect personnel, the ministry official said, adding that no request had yet been made.
Sigonella, in eastern Sicily, is home to a US Naval Air Station as well as a base for the Italian Air Force. It is sometimes used for logistical support for American and other Nato forces. Mr Renzi said he preferred a diplomatic response to ISIS, which has faced US-led airstrikes on the caliphate it has proclaimed across swathes of Iraq and Syria since 2014. “But then, if we have proof that there are ‘kamikaze’ attackers preparing potential strikes, naturally Italy will do its part along with all the others,” he said.
Meanwhile, Spain’s interior ministry Tuesday said the Spanish and Moroccan police have arrested four suspected members of a jihadi cell that sought to recruit members for the ISIS group. A ministry statement said three Spaniards were arrested in Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta while a Moroccan was arrested in the nearby Moroccan city of Nador.
