Govt OKd 'armed U.S. drones take-off from Italy' (2)

(ANSA) - New York, February 22 - The Italian government in January agreed to let armed American drones take off from a base on its territory for military operations against the so-called Islamic State (ISIS) fundamentalist militia in Libya and across North Africa, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday. The deal came after over a year of negotiations, the US financial paper said. The green light arrived from Rome on the condition that the drones be used only "for purposes of defence, to protect US special forces operations in Libya," the paper reported.