By Eman Nassar
RIYADH
Saudi Arabia will host a regional conference in two days devoted to "terrorism in the region," which will be attended by U.S. and Turkish representatives, Saudi's official SPA news agency reported Tuesday.
On Thursday, the Gulf powerhouse will host representatives of the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council, Egypt, Jordan, the U.S. and Turkey, according to the news agency.
The conference, which will be held in Saudi's western Jeddah province, will tackle ongoing counterterrorism efforts aimed at fighting "the extremist organizations that stand behind terrorism in the region," the news agency said.
The meeting will coincide with a Middle East tour by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, which will include Saudi Arabia and Jordan.
Kerry will use the tour to promote proposals for an international coalition to combat the self-styled Islamic State militant group. The group recently took over large swathes of Iraq and Syria, raising alarm bells in Middle Eastern and Western capitals.
The U.S. has conducted scores of airstrikes across Iraq against Islamic State targets since U.S. President Barack Obama authorized the military to carry out an air campaign in early August.
Last month, Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdelaziz warned that the Islamic State would "spread into Europe and the U.S." in the absence of an effective international response to the group's current activity in the Middle East region.
In March, Saudi Arabia designated the Islamic State a "terrorist organization," along with a handful of other militant groups.
The designation came amid tensions between Riyadh and the formerly Shiite-dominated Baghdad government led by Nouri al-Maliki after the latter accused the oil-rich kingdom – and key U.S. ally – of "sponsoring terrorism" in Iraq, which shares a border with Saudi Arabia.
Riyadh in turn accused al-Maliki's government of being responsible for Iraq's insurgency, which is being led by the Islamic State, a Sunni militant group with alleged links to Al-Qaeda.
www.aa.com.tr/en
