White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the alliance wouldn’t be a substitute or a replacement for the U.S.-led coalition fighting IS militants, noting the Saudi effort was meant to focus on broader targets.
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Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu of Turkey, the only North Atlantic Treaty Organisation member in the coalition, called it the “best response to those who are trying to associate terror and Islam”.
The alliance will perform the duty to protect the nations from the evils of all armed groups and terrorist organizations – whatever their doctrine or title – which spread killing and corruption in the world and are created to terrorize the innocent, the statement highlighted.
In March the kingdom formed an Arab coalition of about a dozen countries to support the government of Yemen against Iran-backed Huthi rebels and their allies, who seized much of the country.
The new Saudi-led alliance does not include the kingdom’s regional rival Iran, or Syria and Iraq. Tehran and Riyadh are ranged on opposite sides in proxy conflicts in Syria and Yemen.
The formation of the Islamic coalition could signal a change in a region that has long left Syria and Iraq to their own devices. He said their efforts would not be limited to only countering the ISIL group.
Europol’s director estimates the number of European nationals that have trained as foreign fighters in Syria and Iraq at between 5,000 and 7,000. He added that the coalition will coordinate with the major world powers and worldwide organisations, according to Reuters.
“Without a doubt, there will be coordination in these efforts”, he said.
A statement taken by Saudi state news agency SPA said the brand new coalition would have a combined operations centre situated in Riyadh to “organize and support military operations”. Smaller member-states included in the coalition are the archipelago of Maldives and the Gulf island-nation of Bahrain.
The Islamic State said earlier that it will overthrow the Gulf monarchies and has started to attack security forces and Shi’ite Muslim mosques in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
“The objective of this coalition is to bring all these countriescountries together and say we recognise there is a problem and that action is required”, Jubeir said after attending a meeting in Paris to discuss the Syrian crisis.
It said the Pak foreign secretary had asked the country’s ambassador in Riyadh to get a clarification from Saudi Arabia on the matter. The small country has always remained a mediator in the numerous regional conflicts and has served as a vital link of communication between the Gulf Arabs and Iran.
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“Currently, every Muslim country is fighting terrorism individually”, the Saudi defense minister said.
