Italian officials have said Italy has sent some 40 secret service agents to Libya in recent weeks, with an additional 50 special forces operatives set to join them.
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Gino Pollicardo, center, and Filippo Calcagno, right, the two Italian hostages who were freed on Friday from Islamic State group custody in the western Libyan city of Sabratha, are welcomed by Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni as they arrive at Rome Ciampino’s airport, early Sunday, March 6, 2016.
Hussein al-Zawadi told The Associated Press that Gino Pollicardo and Filippo Calcagno were freed from a house in a northwestern district of Sabratha. “They will be transferred to their country sometime soon”, he added.
“We expect only the return of our father’s body”. The foreign ministry in Rome confirmed the releases, saying that the two “are no longer in the hands of their captors”.
The two were among a group of four that had been captured, but Italian officials believe that the rest had most likely been killed. Rome’s prosecution office, which is investigating the kidnappings, said Fausto Piano and Salvatore Failla had been separated from Pollicardo and Calcagno. Italian media reports suggested all four had been close to being freed, before plans went awry.
Libya fell into chaos after dictator Muammar Gaddafi was toppled and killed in 2011, and since 2014 its divisions have only increased. IS and other extremist organisations have exploited the power vacuum, making gains along the oil-rich coastal regions and triggering concern among Western nations over jihadists controlling territory just 300 kilometres from Europe.
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Later in February, a militia loyal to the Islamist-backed government in the capital, Tripoli, said it had arrested the leader of the Islamic State branch for Sabratha after IS tried to take over the city, storming its security headquarters and beheading at least 12 militiamen. IS subsequently seized the centre of the city, only to be pushed back to its outskirts last week.
