Saudi FM: Islamic alliance may deploy troops to fight Daesh

“It depends upon the requests that come, it depends upon the demand and it is dependent upon the readiness of states to provide the support necessary”, he told a a news briefing in Paris.

Madani said that the OIC member states are among “the hardest-hit by terrorism”. The alliance will be led by Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with the participation of the UAE.

The prince told a rare news conference that the Riyadh-based coalition will “be a partner in the worldwide fight against this scourge” of terrorism in the Islamic world.

The 34 members all belong to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

The Arab allies fighting against ISIS have refused to say how many airstrikes they have carried out against ISIS.

Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu of Turkey, the only North Atlantic Treaty Organisation member in the new coalition, called it the “best response to those who are trying to associate terror and Islam”.

“The coalition announced by Mohammed bin Salman is an effort to show Sunni-Muslim resolve against terrorism”, Theodore Karasik, a Dubai-based senior adviser at Gulf State Analytics.

Major powers and worldwide organizations will coordinate with each other in operations within Iraq and Syria since Saudi Arabia can not conduct operations without coordinating to ensure its legitimacy, said bin Salman.

“There is no limit in terms of where the assistance would be provided, or to whom it would be provided”, he said. The kingdom has said military operations in Yemen were nearing an end, although fighting continued ahead of a ceasefire to begin at 0900 GMT Tuesday in conjunction with peace talks in Switzerland.

“Only joint military operations are a real option”.

So while plenty of Arab and Muslim countries are bombing targets in various alliances, Saudi’s announced coalition this week appears to be the first time so many are coming together.

Saudi Arabia has also played a prominent role in efforts to find a political solution to the war in Syria.

Syrian President Bashar al Assad remains opposed to negotiating with groups he sees as terrorists, but there are hopes Russian Federation may force him to make concessions.

However, the absence of Iran, Iraq and Syria, three countries battling ISIS, raised questions about whether the alliance was meant to present a unified front against the extremists or Saudi Arabia’s main regional rival, Iran. The foreign minister said everything is on the table when he was asked whether the alliance will not allow putting troops in the ground. It’s unclear how such a coalition would function across the Islamic world and if countries would allow it to conduct military operations within their own borders.