Italy is evacuating its troops from Iraq after the base they were in was bombed by drones. “The withdrawal was planned,” announced the Minister of Defense
Italy has announced the temporary withdrawal of all personnel from its Erbil base in Iraqi Kurdistan, which was targeted by a drone attack.
The Italian Minister of Defense, Guido Crosetto PHOTO: EPA-EFE
Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto told the TG1 news program that the decision to withdraw had been made before Wednesday's attack, which resulted in no casualties.
“A withdrawal was already planned”Crosetto said, stressing that this is only a temporary measure.
The announcement was also confirmed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Antonio Tajani, who previously condemned on the X platform the drone attack on the Italian base in Erbil, according to The Guardian.
Tajani told parliament that he had discussed the situation with Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani, stressing that he was “prudence and restraint are essential to avoid an escalation”.
Italy has soldiers stationed in the city of Erbil, where they participate in the training of Kurdish security forces as part of an international mission.
According to Crosetto, 102 soldiers recently returned to Italy from the base, and 141 personnel were there at the time of the attack.
Camp Singara base commander Stefano Pizzotti said the attack happened just after midnight local time. He denied initial reports that it was a missile attack.
The officer specified that, at the time of the incident, all the soldiers were already in the bunkers, after the activation of an air threat alarm.
The statement was made in a video message published by the Italian Ministry of Defense.
Antonio Tajani explained that the Italian base is located in a military complex that also includes bases of other states, especially the United States.
“We don't know if the attack targeted the Italians or the military complex as a whole”said the head of Italian diplomacy in an intervention on the Realpolitik show.
Italian authorities stressed that the withdrawal of personnel is temporary and part of a plan that began before the incident.
