11-27-2017, 10:58 AM
Iraq and Syria, at the forefront of the battle against Islamic State, are not members, nor is mainly Shi‘ite Muslim Iran, the regional rival to mostly Sunni Saudi Arabia.
Qatar, originally part of the alliance, was not invited to Sunday’s meeting after Riyadh led a group of states seeking to isolate Doha, saying it supported terrorism. Doha denies this.
Abdulelah al-Saleh, a Saudi lieutenant general and the coalition’s secretary general, said Qatar was excluded to help build a consensus for launching operations. He also said the group was not aimed at creating a Sunni bloc to counter Iran.
“The enemy is terrorism. It’s not sects or religions or races, its terrorism,” Saleh told reporters.
More:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi...DQ0RQ?il=0
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-...earth.html
Qatar, originally part of the alliance, was not invited to Sunday’s meeting after Riyadh led a group of states seeking to isolate Doha, saying it supported terrorism. Doha denies this.
Abdulelah al-Saleh, a Saudi lieutenant general and the coalition’s secretary general, said Qatar was excluded to help build a consensus for launching operations. He also said the group was not aimed at creating a Sunni bloc to counter Iran.
“The enemy is terrorism. It’s not sects or religions or races, its terrorism,” Saleh told reporters.
More:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi...DQ0RQ?il=0
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-...earth.html