Dhaka joins ‘Islamic coalition against terrorism’

Dhaka joins ‘Islamic coalition against terrorism’

Bangladesh joined a newly formed 34-nation coalition of Muslim countries to combat terrorism, media reports say. Saudi Arabia has reporte... 3:18 AM

Bangladesh joined a newly formed 34-nation coalition of Muslim countries to combat terrorism, media reports say.

Saudi Arabia has reportedly presented the 34-state military block ‘Islamic coalition against terrorism’.
An RT report updated on Tuesday referred to announcement by the Saudi Arabian state TV and said the Riyadh-based “Islamic military alliance” has been formed with a mission to fight terrorism.
The coalition is said to have consisted of 34 countries, including the Gulf States, a number of African countries, Turkey, Egypt, Malaysia and Pakistan.
The report added that countries involved in the coalition aside from Saudi Arabia, include Jordan, the UAE, Pakistan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Benin, Turkey, Chad, Togo, Tunisia, Djibouti, Senegal, Sudan, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Gabon, Guinea, the partially-recognized state of Palestine, the Islamic Federal Republic of the Comoros, Qatar, Cote d’Ivoire, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Maldives, Mali, Malaysia, Egypt, Morocco, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Yemen.
“The countries here mentioned have decided on the formation of a military alliance led by Saudi Arabia to fight terrorism, with a joint operations centre based in Riyadh to coordinate and support military operations,” state news agency SPA quoted an official statement as saying.
According to Reuters, the statement added that the coalition has “a duty to protect the Islamic nation from the evils of all terrorist groups and organizations whatever their sect and name which wreak death and corruption on earth and aim to terrorise the innocent”.
The coalition’s headquarters will be based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s capital.
Currently, there are a number of active coalitions fighting terror groups such as Islamic State (IS, Daesh, formerly ISIS/ISIL) in Syria and Iraq, said RT report.
The US-led coalition has reportedly gathered the support of at least 65 countries.
However, various media reports have claimed that less than a dozen states are actually contributing, with American jets carrying out most of the strikes.
Prothom Alo