"We know they have had ambitions to go off shore, we know they would like to have a maritime arm, just as Al Qaeda had a maritime arm," UK Vice Admiral Clive Johnstone stated Thursday, speaking on board a Spanish NATO ship in London, as quoted by The Telegraph newspaper.
Cruise liners, oil platforms, container ships in the Mediterranean could be targeted by the militants, he noted.
"NATO mustn’t think the Mediterranean is just about immigration. It is the spread along the North African seaboard, it is the Daesh entry into Libya, it is the Daesh control of Sirte and other places, which has an uncomfortable shadow over maritime trade and maritime access," Johnstone warned.
Daesh, which is outlawed in Russia, has seized large areas in Syria and Iraq and declared a caliphate on territories under its control. The group is currently considered to be one the main threats to global security. According to reports, Daesh jihadists are trying to expand their influence in North African countries, particularly in Libya.
