Although almost no official statements have ever been made on the issue, in practice Italy is involved in war, as any other country participating in a US-led coalition, and has been gradually deploying its troops in Libya and Iraq, Italian media outlets reported.
According to reports, there are 500 servicemen from the Italian elite infantry army corps currently active in Iraq. Their task is to prevent the destruction of a dam on the Tigris River by Daesh terrorists leaving the city of Mosul.
The dam has recently been renovated by Italian company Trevi, and is currently being protected by military formations with a special mandate. There are now a total of 1,400 Italian soldiers. In addition to Mosul, they are placed in Iraqi Kurdistan, with 140 of them (as well as eight helicopters) being tasked with transporting the wounded to hospitals.
A military operation to retake Mosul from Daesh was started on October 17. According to local media, about 30,000 Iraqi soldiers and 4,000 Kurdish Peshmerga fighters are taking part in the Mosul operation, backed by artillery and airstrikes carried out by the US-led international coalition.
Since the information about the participation of Italian troops in operations outside the country has initially been almost a state secret, Huffington Post was the first media outlet to report about it, publishing a secret document of the Parliamentary Committee for State Security (COPASIR).
Despite Italy's engagement in several military operations abroad, the Italian government has always avoided talking about it in public, preferring instead for the country to be considered a peacekeeping force.
