Bangladesh to join Saudi Arabia-led military alliance against terrorism

Bangladesh has confirmed it is joining a Saudi Arabia-led 34-state Islamic military coalition to combat terrorism and militancy.

The foreign ministry said Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz has taken this initiative to establish a centre in Riyadh to coordinate efforts against terrorism and extremism.

Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir made a request to his Bangladesh counterpart AH Mahmood Ali to join the Centre as a founding member.

Last year, Bangladesh snubbed a US request to join its anti-Islamic State military campaign.

Ali had then said Bangladesh will join any UN-led humanitarian initiative in the region.

Reuters, quoting a joint statement published on Saudi state news agency SPA, said a joint operations centre will be based in Riyadh to coordinate and support military operations.

In line with the ‘zero tolerance’ policy of the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina against terrorism and violent extremism, Bangladesh has decided to join the Centre along with other Muslim countries, the foreign ministry said.

The role of the centre will be to coordinate efforts, exchange experiences, and provide support where needed.

Reuters said the Saudi announcement cited "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 terrorize the innocent."

In a rare press conference, 30-year-old crown prince and Defence Minister Mohammed bin Salman told reporters on Tuesday that the campaign would "coordinate" efforts to fight terrorism in Iraq, Syria, Libya, Egypt and Afghanistan. But he offered few concrete indications of how military efforts might proceed, the news agency said.

Shia Muslim Iran, Sunni Saudi Arabia's archrival for influence in the Arab world, was absent from the states named as participants, as proxy conflicts between the two regional powers rage from Syria to Yemen.

Islamic State has pledged to overthrow the monarchies of the Gulf and have mounted a series of attacks on Shia Muslim mosques and security forces in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

The countries participating in the alliance along with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are: Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Benin, Turkey, Chad, Togo, Tunisia, Djibouti, Senegal, Sudan, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Gabon, Guinea, Palestine, Comoros, Qatar, Cote d'Ivoire, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Maldives, Mali, Malaysia, Egypt, Morocco, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, and Yemen, Reuters added.