Breaking news
Italy sends Tornado fighter jets to Kuwait to join US-led coalition against Islamic State.
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World Aviation Defense & Security News - Italy |
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| Italy sends Tornado fighter jets to Kuwait to join US-led coalition against Islamic State | |||
Italy
is sending Tornado multirole jet fighters to Kuwait to join the allied
forces' fight against ISIL, though Italian Defence Minister Roberta Pinotti
claims that the warplanes are "forbidden from bombing,"
according to Italian defence ministry sources on Monday, November 17.
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Italian Panavia Tornado IDS multirole aircraft |
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Pinotti
set off a storm among opposition MPs when she disclosed in an interview
with la Stampa newspaper a plan to send four Tornados for "advanced
reconnaissance" duties in Iraq and Syria, together with 100
Italian Air Force personnel. Last month, Pinotti told parliament that 280 military training personnel were being sent to the Gulf to work with Kurdish forces, along with two unarmed Predator drones. A consignment of light weaponry and anti-tank guns were also sent to Kurdish Peshmerga forces fighting ISIL. Nicola Latorre, president of the Defence Commission in the Senate, denied that there was creeping involvement in the conflict without parliamentary authorization. Italian Chief of Staff for Defence Admiral Luigi Binelli Mantelli told Il Sole 24 Ore newspaper that the recent NATO summit at Newport assigned Italy duties of guard and reconnaissance that are "very delicate in this phase, because the ISIL army has learned increasingly how to hide men and vehicles in hospitals, schools and mosques." Defence sources acknowledged, however, that Italian Tornados flying reconnaissance flights will have the right to defend themselves if attacked. The dispatch of the Tornados is seen in Allied military circles as a response to criticism of Rome for increasingly dragging its feet over contributing to the battle against ISIL militant forces. |
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