Rome, Feb 24: Italy will allow armed US drones to fly out of an American base in Sicily to launch attacks against the Islamic State in Libya and other countries in northern Africa where the extremist group poses a threat.
The agreement comes after a year of negotiations between the US and Italy and amid growing concern that Isis is gaining strength in Libya.
The Italian defense ministry confirmed the news, which was first reported on Monday by the Wall Street Journal.
A US official told the Guardian that the US had been granted permission to fly armed drones out of the Sicilian base since January.
The deal does not give the US free reign to use its base in Sicily without restrictions. The US will have to secure permission from the Italian government each time it wants to release an armed drone and the missions will have to be limited to defensive strikes to protect special forces engaged in anti-Isis missions. The drones are based at the Sigonella naval air station in Sicily, which is also a Nato and Italian air base.
Italy’s Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has ruled out Italy’s direct participation in any operations against Libya.
According to the WSJ, the Italian government “balked” at a request by the US for the Sicilian base to be used for “offensive operations”, such as the ones conducted last week against an alleged training camp near the town of Sabratha in Libya that targeted senior Isis militants.
