Italy calls for African task force to tackle growing ISIL threat

Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio called for the global alliance against ISIL to step up action in regions it operates in.

Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio has said he wants to set up an international task force to counter the threat posed by the spread of ISIL (ISIS)-affiliated groups across the African continent. Co-chairing a meeting on Friday of the global coalition fighting ISIL alongside US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Di Maio said there are fears that the group can “regain strength”. He also warned against the alliance letting down its guard, despite the fact the ISIL fighters had lost much of their territories in Iraq and Syria. “With the support of the USA and many other partners, I proposed the establishment of an Africa task force to identify and stop [ISIL]-related terrorist threats on the continent,” Di Maio told reporters, standing alongside Blinken.