Saudi Arabia vows new Muslim alliance 'will wipe terrorists from the earth'

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman vowed to "pursue terrorists until they are wiped from the face of the earth" as officials from 40 Muslim countries gathered Sunday in the first meeting of a Saudi-led anti-terrorism alliance of Muslim countries.

The alliance was announced in 2015 under the auspices of Crown Prince Mohammed, whose rapid ascent since his appointment as heir to the throne in June has shaken the political scene across the region. 

Held under the theme “Allied Against Terrorism”, the Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition (IMCTC) meeting was opened by Mohammed bin Salman.

"In past years, terrorism has been functioning in all of our countries... with no coordination" among national authorities, Crown Prince bin Salman, who is also the Saudi defence minister, said in his keynote speech at the gathering in Riyadh.

"This ends today, with this alliance."

He said the 40 countries were sending a "clear signal" that they would "work together to support the military, financial, intelligence and political efforts of every member state".

The summit is the first meeting of defence ministers and other senior officials from IMCTC, which officially counts 41 countries and identifies as a "pan-Islamic unified front" against violent extremism. 

TRT World speaks to Serhan Afacan from Istanbul Medeniyet University.

The meeting in Riyadh brings together Muslim or Muslim-majority nations including Turkey, Afghanistan, Uganda, Somalia, Mauritania, Lebanon, Libya, Yemen, Pakistan, Malaysia and Egypt.

The alliance groups largely, although not exclusively, Sunni-majority or Sunni-ruled countries.

'Building counter-terrorism capacity'

The meeting also comes as several military coalitions, with backers including both Iran and key Saudi ally the United States, close in on Daesh group in Iraq and Syria.

Retired Pakistani general Raheel Sharif, who was appointed commander-in-chief of the earlier this year, presented the Military Domain during the conference.

Addressing the conference, Sharif said the alliance aims to "mobilise and coordinate the use of resources, facilitate the exchange of information and help member countries build their own counter-terrorism capacity." 

He added that the coalition is not against any country or sect and its sole objective is to counter terrorism.

The alliance doesn't include Iran, Iraq or Syria, while member nation Qatar sent no one to attend the one-day Riyadh gathering amid a diplomatic standoff between Doha and four Arab nations led by the kingdom.

Qatar's flag was also absent.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain - all members of the counter terrorism alliance - abruptly cut diplomatic and trade ties with Qatar in June, accusing the emirate of being too close to Iran and supporting terrorism.

Qatar denies the allegations.

Meanwhile, Egypt also sent a military official instead of its defence minister as the country is reeling from a Friday attack on a mosque that killed more than 300 people during prayer time.