Saudi crown prince leads Islamic military alliance meeting
DUBAI - Saudi Arabia's assertive crown prince on Sunday opened the first high-level meeting of a kingdom-led alliance of Muslim nations against terrorism, vowing that extremists will no longer "tarnish our beautiful religion."
The alliance, initially announced with 34 nations, now includes 41, according the Saudi government. Addressing the defense ministers and other high-ranking officials, Crown Prince Mohammed said Sunday's meeting sends "a strong signal that we are going to work together and coordinate together to support each other."
However, the alliance doesn't include Iran, Iraq or Syria, while member nation Qatar sent no one to attend the one-day Riyadh gathering amid a diplomatic standoff between Doha and four Arab nations led by the kingdom.
