Islamic Military Alliance determined to 'drain' terrorism funding sources

Islamic Military Alliance to Fight Terrorism chief Lt Gen Abdulilah Al-Saleh said on Sunday the coalition has created strategies which aim to "drain the sources of terrorism funding" through intelligence, military and the media.

Following ministerial talks between the 41-nation member alliance in Riyadh, Secretary-General Al-Saleh said the coalition aims to open cooperation channels between its members and other nations and organisations with the same goal.

At a joint press conference with the coalition's Commander-in-Chief retired Lt Gen Raheel Sharif and Muslim World League Secretary-General Muhammad Issa, he underlined the talks' importance to intelligence and expertise sharing and coordination amongst the member nations.

Carrying out initiatives will be optional, he said, in line with the best interests of each of the member nations, while contributions can be made through several means, including financial, technical or media support.

He stressed that this support will undergo strict scrutiny and evaluation in order to assess whether or not it is deemed effective or requires improvement.

For his part, Commander Sharif said the alliance is currently gathering information about terrorist groups in order to use this knowledge in military exercises, which will witness the application of real-life situations on the battlefield.

He underlined that the alliance would solely be focused on the fight against terrorism and is committed to supporting member nations in tackling terrorists, either through technical, financial or technical means.

With its headquarters located in the Saudi capital, this would support in boosting the alliance's efforts due to Riyadh's excellent relations with the outside world and international organisations and the presence of conventional and social networking media outlets.

The term 'terrorism' was defined by Muslim World League chief Issa as an organised action that results in fear and anxiety along with damage to property carried out by organisations or groups carrying an ideological background.

Issa said that ideological warfare was no less important than the military element, mentioning ongoing coordination with the Organisation of Islamic Conference and other anti-terrorism centres, namely the Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideology.