Italy's PM to ask Parliament to transfer troops from Iraq to Niger

Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni has stated that he will ask the parliament to transfer some of the nation's troops based in Iraq to Niger to combat human trafficking and terrorism.

Citing the "military defeat" of Islamic State (IS) in Iraq as the reason, Gentiloni stated that Italy has to "continue to work, concentrating our attention and energies on that mix of threats stemming from human trafficking and terrorism that has been consolidating in the last few years in the Sahel, in Africa."

"For this reason, part of our forces in Iraq will be deployed to Niger in coming months - this is the proposal the government will make to parliament," the Italian leader added aboard the Italian naval vessel Etna.

Several media reports have stated that the number of people that will be sent to the African nation is not specified as far.