Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir (C) arrives for a ministerial meeting on Syria at the Quai d'Orsay, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in Paris yesterday. AFP
AFP/Paris
Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said Tuesday the new "anti-terrorism" military coalition of 34 Muslim countries would share intelligence and deploy troops if necessary.
"Nothing is off the table. A number of countries are in desperate need of assistance," he told reporters in Paris.
He said military help would be considered on a "case-by-case basis".
"Terrorism has hit Islamic countries. It is time that the Islamic world takes a stand," said Jubeir.
Saudi Arabia announced the formation of the military coalition earlier on Tuesday.
It includes many Muslim-majority nations from Africa, Asia and the Middle East, but not Saudi Arabia's Shiite regional rival Iran, or Syria and Iraq.
Jubeir said it would work along two tracks: security and combating violent ideology.
The security track involves sharing intelligence, training troops and providing equipment to allies, he said.
Despite its latest efforts, many see Saudi Arabia as a key source of the extremist ideology that underpins violent groups such as Islamic State and Al-Qaeda, using its vast oil wealth to fund a network of fundamentalist religious schools.
German Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel echoed widespread concerns this month when he said: "From Saudi Arabia, Wahhabi mosques are financed throughout the world. In Germany many Islamists considered dangerous persons emerge from these communities."