led coalition of Islamic countries to fight terrorism, the Saudi Press Agency reported. The sultanate announced its decision to join the 40-nation Islamic Military Alliance to Fight Terrorism in a letter delivered to Deputy Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, second deputy premier and minister of defense. The letter from the Omani Minister Responsible for Defense Affairs Sayyid Badr Al-Busaidi was handed to the Deputy Crown Prince by Sayyid Ahmed Bin Hilal Al-Busaidy, Oman's ambassador to the Kingdom, in Riyadh on Wednesday. While lauding the Omani decision, Prince Muhammad appreciated the Omani leadership's support to the Saudi efforts in leading the alliance. Oman is the last Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) country and the 41st Islamic country to join the alliance. Member countries include heavyweights in the Islamic world such as Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt and Malaysia. More than 10 other Islamic countries, including Indonesia, the most populous Muslim country, have expressed their support for the alliance. Deputy Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman announced the creation of the alliance on Dec. 15, 2015 in the wake of the growing threat of Daesh (the so-called IS) and other terrorist groups as well as Houthi militias, posing a big threat to the region and the Islamic world as a whole. The alliance is based in a joint command center in Riyadh. The main objective of the alliance is to protect the Muslim countries from all terrorist groups and terrorist organizations irrespective of their sect and name. The alliance has reaffirmed that it would operate in line with the United Nations and Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) provisions on terrorism.
