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Saudis announce Islamic anti-terrorism coalition – BBC

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Saudi Arabia has said 34 mainly Muslim nations have joined a new military alliance to fight terrorism, the BBC reported.

A joint operations center is to be established in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, Saudi state media reported.

Countries from Asia, Africa and the Arab world are involved in the alliance but Iran’s regime is not.

Saudi Defense Minister Mohammed bin Salman said the new alliance would co-ordinate efforts against extremists in Iraq, Syria, Libya, Egypt and Afghanistan.

Neither Iraq nor Syria are in the coalition, nor is Afghanistan.

Speaking at a news conference in Riyadh, the Deputy Crown Prince said the counter-terrorism force was borne out of “the Islamic world’s vigilance in fighting this disease [terrorism] which has damaged the Islamic world.”

“Currently, every Muslim country is fighting terrorism individually… so co-ordinating efforts is very important.”

The SPA state news agency said 10 other “Islamic countries” had expressed support, including Indonesia.

Prince Mohammed said: “These countries have procedures to go through before joining the coalition, but out of keenness to achieve this coalition as soon as possible, [the alliance of] 34 countries has been announced.”

In announcing the coalition, SPA stated that Islam forbids “corruption and destruction in the world” and that terrorism represents “a serious violation of human dignity and rights, especially the right to life and the right to security”.

Saudi Arabia is part of the U.S.-led coalition against ISIS (ISIL, Daesh) and is also leading a military intervention in Yemen against Houthi rebels that are backed by the Iranian regime, BBC reported.

The list of 34 members: Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Benin, Chad, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Gabon, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Morocco, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Palestinians, Qatar, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.