The White House said Tuesday that it appreciates the efforts of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the fight against Daesh and that it expects the kingdom to continue the campaign. "The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has made important contributions to the coalition effort and we anticipate that they will continue to do so," White House spokesperson Josh Earnest told reporters. Asked for reaction to the formation of a new coalition to combat terrorism, Earnest noted that coalition will focus on "terrorist threats that are threatening all of the members of that coalition, so it's certainly broader than ISIL (Daesh)." "You've heard me say on a number of occasions, as recently as yesterday, that we believe that there are additional steps and greater investments that can be made by members of our anti-ISIL coalition to fighting terrorism and speaking out, particularly when it comes to countering ISIL's online radicalization efforts," Earnest said. "And I understand based on the way this was described by the Saudis yesterday, that is a central part of this particular coalition's activities." "I would point out that I think the Saudis went to great lengths to also make it clear that this is not a substitute or a replacement for the 65-member anti-ISIL coalition that was built and is being led by the United States," Earnest said. US State Department spokesman John Kirby said that the coalition is in agreement with efforts that Washington has been calling on its allies in the region to exert since a while. The spokesman told reporters that his country welcomes any intensification of the effort against ISIL in the region.
