Daesh Terrorists From Libya Could Reach Europe Via Sea in Migrant's Boats

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Radicals from the Islamic State (ISIL or Daesh) terrorist group fleeing Libya could try to reach Europe by hiding among migrants who cross the Mediterranean sea in boats, Giacomo Stucchi, head of Italian Parliamentary Committee for the Intelligence and Security Services and for State Secret Control (COPASIR) said.

The statement comes amid reports that hundreds of Daesh-affiliated militants started to flee Libya after attacks of ground forces as well as US Air Force air strikes against militants during fights for the Libyan city of Sirte.

"After Sirte is liberated there is a possibility that Daesh [Islamic State, banned in Russia] will send its fighters on boats to Italian shores," he was quoted as saying by Italian il Fatto Quotidiano newspaper.

He also added that it would be necessary to introduce policy of identification control on the country's shores which could allow to assess "precise intentions" of those who arrive.

On August 1, the United States began a new aerial campaign against the Daesh, outlawed in Russia and numerous countries, in coordination with the Libya’s Government of National Accord (GNA). The campaign is supposed to allow GNA to make a strategic advance against the terror group’s positions in Sirte, according to the US Defense Department.

Libya has been in a state of civil war since May 2014. The United Nations (UN) helped to bring about a ceasefire in late 2015 and on March 31 the UN-backed unity government took office in Tripoli. The government has so far failed to unite the country.