Saudi Arabia forms 34-nation counterterrorism coalition

Riyadh - The new counterterrorism coalition includes nations such as Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, Libya and Yemen.

Saudi Arabia said on Tuesday that 34 nations have agreed to form a new Islamic military alliance to fight terrorism with a joint operations center based in the Kingdom's capital, Riyadh.
The announcement published by the state-run Saudi Press Agency said the alliance will be Saudi-led and is being established because terrorism "should be fought by all means and collaboration should be made to eliminate it."
The new counterterrorism coalition includes nations such as Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, Libya and Yemen. African nations that have suffered terrorist attacks such as Mali, Chad, Somalia and Nigeria are also members.
Iran is not part of the coalition. Saudi Deputy Crown Prince and Defense Minister Mohammed bin Salman said the new Islamic military coalition will develop mechanisms for working with other countries and international bodies to support counterterrorism efforts.
"Currently, every Muslim country is fighting terrorism individually ... so coordinating efforts is very important," he said.
He said the joint operations centre will be established in Riyadh to "coordinate and support military operations to fight terrorism" across the Muslim world.
Other member-states included Benin, Maldives, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, though absent from the list are Oman, Iraq and Syria.

• Saudi Arabia