Italy struck but not broken

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has said Rome will respond with determination to ISIL (IS) attacks in Dhaka.

Italy is down but not out, he said in a speech after Islamic State extremists attacked a restaurant in the Bangladeshi capital, killing 20 people, including at least nine Italians, reports Politico, an Italian newspaper. 

“Confronted with the madness of those who want to undo the Italian way of life, Italians have been struck but not broken,” Renzi said late Saturday.

On Friday night, six gunmen stormed Holey Artisan Bakery in the diplomatic quarter of Dhaka and took diners hostage. 

ISIL (IS) claimed responsibility for the attack.

It's the latest in a series of terrorist attacks around the world, Renzi said, mentioning that the two Italians who were killed in the Bataclan concert hall in Paris and four at the Sousse resort in Tunisia last year.

“Even if there are 8,000 kilometres between Tunis and Dhaka, between Tunisia and Bangladesh, the trail of blood is the same,” he said.

“The terrorists want to rip apart our daily lives. We have the responsibility to respond with even more resolve and determination in defense of our values,” Renzi said. “Our values are stronger than their prejudice.”