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Italy to allow US drones to fly out of Sicily air base for attacks on Isis
Source: The Guardian
Italy to allow US drones to fly out of Sicily air base for attacks on Isis
Agreement will allow armed drones to fly to Libya and elsewhere in northern
Africa but missions must be defensive strikes to protect special forces
Stephanie Kirchgaessner in Rome
Monday 22 February 2016 22.07 GMT
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.
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Agreement will allow armed drones to fly to Libya and elsewhere in northern
Africa but missions must be defensive strikes to protect special forces
Stephanie Kirchgaessner in Rome
Monday 22 February 2016 22.07 GMT
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.
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Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/feb/22/italy-us-military-drones-isis-libya-sicily-base
