ITALY TO START TROOPS WITHDRAWAL FROM AFGHANISTAN THIS YEAR

Rome, 15 Dhul Hijja 1434/19 October 2013 (MINA) – Italy is going to withdrawing it’s forces from Afghanistan and leave around 1,800 soldiers in Afghanistan by the first quarter of next year.

Italy has currently deployed 2,900 soldiers under the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) mission in Afghanistan, Khaama Press quoted by Mi’raj News Agency (MINA) as reporting.

The Italian defense minister Mario Mauro has told a parliamentary committee that the Italian forces in Afghanistan will be reduced from 2,900 to 1,800 by spring next year.

Mario Mauro has further added that the withdrawal will start by the end of this year.

“Italian forces will be reduced from an average of 2,900 soldiers during the last three months of 2013 to 1,800 by the end of 2014,” Mauro said.

Mauro further added that the drawing-down of Italian troops was in line with reductions by other NATO allies in the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) mission.

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He also added that Italy will maintain a presence in Afghanistan after 2014 through a support mission, involving 59 countries, where it will assist with business training and other forms of support excluding law enforcement.

As part of Operation Enduring Freedom in response to the September 11, 2001 attacks, Italy contributed to the international operation in Afghanistan. Italian forces have contributed to ISAF, the NATO force in Afghanistan, and a Provincial reconstruction team and 50 Italian soldiers have died under ISAF.

Italy has sent 4200 troops, based on one infantry company from the 2nd Alpini Regiment tasked to protect the ISAF HQ, one engineer company, one NBC platoon, one logistic unit, as well as liaison and staff elements integrated into the operation chain of command. Italian forces also command a multinational engineer task force and have deployed a platoon of Italian military police.Actually Italy leads the Regional Command West in Afghanistan, and his HQ is located in Herat in the base of Camp Arena.

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Italian Air Force deployed about 30 aircraft among helicopters and planes, some of them are: four AMX Ghibli and two RQ-1A Predator that are used in close air support and intelligence missions, Alenia C-27J Spartan, Boeing CH-47C Chinook, NH90 and Lockheed C-130 Hercules which are used in transport missions, UH-1N Twin Huey and Agusta A129CBT Mangusta are used in missions of fire support to the troops .

The Italian Army did not take part in combat operations of the 2003 Second Gulf War, dispatching troops only after May 1, 2003 – when major combat operations were declared over by the U.S. President George W. Bush. Subsequently Italian troops arrived in the late summer of 2003, and began patrolling Nasiriyah and the surrounding area.

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On 26 May 2006, Italian foreign minister Massimo d’Alema announced that the Italian forces would be reduced to 1,600 by June. As of June 2006 32 Italian troops have been killed in Iraq – with the greatest single loss of life coming on November 12, 2003 – a suicide car bombing of the Italian Carabinieri Corps HQ left a dozen Carabinieri, five Army soldiers, two Italian civilians, and eight Iraqi civilians dead.

As of 2006, Italy ranks third in the world in number of military forces operating in peacekeeping and peace-enforcing scenarios Afghanistan, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Lebanon following only the United States and United Kingdom. (T/P09/P04).

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)