Saudi Arabia forms 34-nation military coalition to fight terrorism

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has formed a military coalition of 34 countries to fight terrorism including powerful Gulf states, Pakistan, Egypt and Turkey, the SPA state news agency announced Tuesday.

The Saudi-led alliance will be based in Riyadh "to coordinate and support military operations to fight terrorism", the agency said, and comprises Middle Eastern, African and Asian states.

The long list of countries includes Egypt, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Malaysia, Pakistan and Gulf Arab and African states, but excluded Iran.

The coalition will tackle "the Islamic world's problem with terrorism and will be a partner in the worldwide fight against this scourge" said 30-year-old Saudi defence minister and deputy crown prince Mohammad bin Salman Al Saud at a press conference in Riyadh.

Arrangements would be made for "coordination with friendly peace-loving nations and international bodies for the sake of supporting international efforts to combat terrorism and to save international peace and security", SPA added.

More than 10 other Islamic countries had expressed support for the coalition, including Indonesia, it said.

"These countries have procedures to go through before joining the coalition, but out of keenness to achieve this coalition as soon as possible, (this alliance of) 34 countries has been announced," said the Saudi minister.

The United States has called for broader international participation in the fight against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria (Daesh), saying Turkey needed to do more to control its borders with Syria, and Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states had been distracted by the conflict in Yemen.

Salman told reporters that the campaign would "coordinate" efforts to fight terrorism in Iraq, Syria, Libya, Egypt and Afghanistan, but offered few concrete indications of how military efforts might proceed.

"There will be international coordination with major powers and international organisations ... in terms of operations in Syria and Iraq. We can't undertake these operations without coordinating with legitimacy in this place and the international community," bin Salman said without elaborating.

Asked if the new alliance would focus just on Islamic State (Daesh), bin Salman said it would confront not only that group but "any terrorist organisation that appears in front of us."