Italy's defence minister on Friday hailed the routing of the Islamic State in Raqqa but warned the terror group remained an international threat despite its defeat in its strongholds in Syria and Iraq.
"After the fall of Mosul and today Raqqa we must welcome the fact that terrorism no longer has a state to form a power base, but this is not enough. Terrorism has not been vanquished," said Robert Pinotti.
"The battle will last many long years and will require ever-stronger cooperation between states to win," Pinotti said on the sidelines of a leadership conference in Stresa, northern Italy.