Milan, Sep 10 (IANS): Italian Defence Minister Roberta Pinotti has urged the European Union (EU) to fight "with all means" the threat of the Islamic State (IS) which has seized many areas in Syria and Iraq.
The self-proclaimed IS is a "new and complex terrorist threat not just for Iraq and Syria, but also for security in the whole area and beyond it", Xinhua quoted Pinotti as saying Tuesday, chairing an informal meeting of European defence ministers in Milan on behalf of the current EU rotating president Italy.
The threat posed by IS "clearly extends towards Europe", she highlighted.
Pinotti stressed the need to "use all means to eradicate this threat," especially fighting funding sources and the surge in foreign fighters joining the IS.
IS chief Abu Bakr al Baghdadi days ago urged Muslims to "take Rome and the entire world" in an audio message posted on jihadist sites.