Italy to send 130 military personnel to Iraq to recover wounded
Italy will send a team specialised in treating war wounded to Iraq as it prepares to send troops to guard Mosul dam maintenance workers, Defence Minister Roberta Pinotti said on Thursday. In the wake of the deadly Islamic State attacks in Paris in November, Italy declined French and American calls to join in air strikes in […]Italy will send a team specialised in treating war wounded to Iraq as it prepares to send troops to guard Mosul dam maintenance workers, Defence Minister Roberta Pinotti said on Thursday. In the wake of the deadly Islamic State attacks in Paris in November, Italy declined French and American calls to join in air strikes in Syria. But it has since announced an increase in its non-combat presence in Iraq, where Islamic State’s self declared caliphate also extends.
In an interview with Canale 5 television, Pinotti said Italy’s cabinet would approve a mission to send 130 military personnel to retrieve and treat the wounded in the coming weeks. “It is a big commitment (of personnel) because to go and pick up a wounded person in a war zone is not something one can do without risks,” Pinotti said.
