Al-Assiri: Saudi Arabia is a leading nation in fighting terrorism

BRUSSELS, Feb 11 (KUNA) -- The presence of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the meeting of defence ministers of the international coalition against the so-called Islamic State (IS) in Brussels Thursday is a strong sign that Saudi Arabia is a main partner in the fight against terrorism, Saudi military spokesman Ahmad Al-Assiri said.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the meeting, he added that the Kingdom has announced a new Islamic coalition to fight terrorism as Saudi Arabia is the leading nation in the Arab and Muslim world and it has a long experience in fighting terrorism and has defeated Al-Qaeda, he said.
He said Saudi Arabia is ready for air and ground operations within the international coalition against Daesh (another name of IS) and under the leadership of United States in Syria.
Referring to the meeting between US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter and Saudi Deputy Crown Prince and Defence Minister Mohammad bin Salman Al-Saud here today, Al-Assiri said they discussed the role of the Kingdom in the coalition against Daesh, in particular air campaign.
They also discussed the Saudi initiative to place ground troops within the framework of the international coalition against Daesh, and the Saudi deputy crown prince informed Carter about the Saudi initiative on the Islamic Coalition against terrorism.
"Its too early today to speak about the numbers or kind of forces that will be on the ground. The meeting of defence ministers of the coalition will discuss the strategic line of efforts followed by several technical meetings on the number of troops and details," he said.
Al-Assiri noted that the Islamic coalition of 35 nations is expected to be operational in March or April. (end) nk.ibi