A major terrorist attack is certain to hit the West sooner or later, Italian Defense Minster Antonio Martino said this evening, in a declaration which was heavily criticised by the opposition and a police union.
"We know for certain that a terrorist attack of major proportions will sooner or later hit the West. We do not know where, nor which shape it will take," Martino said.
He said there was no clear indication of where precisely the target of an attack would be.
"The United States? Europe? Italy? And if it is Italy, where and when? There are too many things that we do not know," he said.
"Personally, I fear the threat of a bacteriological attack, which the West is still underprepared to handle," the minister said, speaking at an academic conference on the military.
Martino expressed concern that Italy did not yet know enough about any possible attack to "have truly guaranteed the security of the public."
He said Italy had "done what was within its power" to ensure security - for example by reinforcing air controls - but that it would need to do "even more."
"We must not allow ourselves to become terrorised, as that would play into the hands of the terrorists," the minister said.
Martino was heavily criticised by the opposition, who said his statement ran counter to previous government advice.
AFP