North Africa potential launchpad for terror attacks: Italy

Rome, Nov 28 (IANS/AKI) North Africa risks becoming a haven for jihadists but also a potential launchpad for terrorist attacks, while the Balkans region also poses a threat, Italy's Interior Minister Marco Minniti said on Tuesday.

"The danger exists that North Africa can become a refuge (for terrorists) and not just a transit point but a base from which to launch attacks.

"The Balkans are also a hive of radicalisation and have produced a high number of (jihadist) foreign fighters," he said during a speech here that assessed the terrorist threat in the wake of the Islamic State jihadist group's recent military defeat in Iraq and Syria spearheaded by the international coalition against IS.

"After IS's military defeat, there is the very high risk of a terrorist response. The foreign fighters are fleeing and heading home under their own steam," Minniti said in the address at Rome's advanced police training academy.

"The easiest routes are the ones taken by migrants... maximum international cooperation is needed," he warned.

--IANS/AKI

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