The killing of Al-Baghdadi in northern Syria by US elite special forces was “a further step forward in the fight against terrorism”, Di Mario told members of Italy’s Senate.
Italy's Five Star Movement leader Luigi Di Maio (Photo: IANS)
Italy’s Foreign Minister Luigi di Maio said on Wednesday that the killing of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr Al- Baghdadi represents progress in the fight against terrorism but the threat posed by IS remains “very serious”.
The killing of Al-Baghdadi in northern Syria by US elite special forces was “a further step forward in the fight against terrorism”, Di Mario told members of Italy’s Senate.
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“But IS remains a very grave threat,” he added.
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Di Maio also added his voice to security fears fuelled by the Turkish military invasion of northeastern Syria this month, as Kurdish officials said they needed to divert fighters and logistics to the front line to defend the area from the Turkish offensive.
“We cannot allow ourselves to squander the gains we have achieved so far,” he warned.
US President Trump confirmed the death of the ISIS leader during a press conference at the White House.
“He was the founder and leader of ISIS. The most ruthless and violent terror organization anywhere in the world. The United States has been searching for Baghdadi for many years. Capturing or killing Baghdadi has been the top national security priority of my administration,” Trump said.
The ISIS chief, who is said to be 48 years old, was eliminated by the US Special Operations forces.
Baghdadi joined Al-Qaeda in Iraq, which merged with other Islamist groups to form the Islamic State of Iraq. He became the group’s leader in 2010 after his predecessor was killed by US forces.
He renamed the group to the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant, widely known as ISIL or ISIS in 2013 and announced his “caliphate” in 2014.
The killing of the ISIS leader comes as a major political victory for President Trump who is facing an impeachment proceeding against him by the opposition Democratic Party, which hold the majority in the House of Representatives.
(With inputs from IANS)
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