Saudi Arabia forms Islamic 34-nation military alliance

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 statement said Islam forbids "corruption and destruction in the world", and that terrorism constitutes "a serious violation of human dignity and rights, especially the right to life and the right to security."

A long list of Arab countries, including Egypt, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, together with Islamic countries Turkey, Malaysia and Pakistan, plus Gulf Arab and African states, were mentioned.

Riyadh's regional rival, Shiite Iran, is not part of the coalition. Saudi Arabia and Iran support opposite sides in the wars raging in Syria and Yemen.

At a rare news conference, Saudi Deputy Crown Prince and Defense Minister Mohammed bin Salman said the new coalition will develop mechanisms for working with other countries and international bodies to support counterterrorism efforts. He said their efforts would not be limited to only countering the Islamic State group.

"Every Muslim country is fighting terrorism individually, ... so coordinating efforts is very important," he said, adding that the joint operations center will be established in Riyadh.

Gulf Arab countries such as Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates are in the coalition, though notably absent from the list is Oman, a neighbor of Saudi Arabia. In recent years, Oman has maintained a neutral role and has emerged as a mediator in regional conflicts, serving as a conduit from the Gulf Arabs to Iran.

However, Iraq and Syria, whose forces are battling to regain territory taken by the Islamic State group and whose governments are allied with Iran, are not in the coalition.

Turkey is the only country in the coalition that is also a NATO member.

AP - Reuters