JEDDAH: Riyadh has suggested providing military forces in the campaign against Daesh terrorists in Syria and Washington is studying the proposal, Arab News’ sister publication Asharq Al-Awsat reported on Thursday, quoting a US State Department official.
Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir made the suggestion during an impromptu meeting with US Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday evening, during which Kerry expressed his condolences to the victims of the terror attacks in the kingdom.
The US Consulate in Jeddah was believed to be one of the targets of a series of suicide bombings in the kingdom on Monday. The suicide bomber managed to kill only himself when he detonated his suicide vest after being confronted by security forces at 2:15 a.m. at a parking lot near the consulate.
Two suicide bombers also killed only themselves when they exploded their suicide bombs outside a Shiite mosque in Qatif, Eastern Province, just as Muslims were breaking their fast at sundown. At almost the same time, a young man exploded his vest outside a police station near the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah, killing himself and four police officers and wounding several others.
Aside from discussing the latest terrorist attacks in the kingdom, Al-Jubeir and Kerry tackled the importance of fighting and defeating Daesh, US State Department spokesman John Kirby told Asharq Al-Awsat.
They also discussed means to reach a political transition in Syria as well as the latest developments in Libya, Yemen and the Israeli-Palestine conflict.
Kirby said the US “looks at the Saudi suggestion very seriously,” but added that both countries have yet to reached a final decision.
“It is not a secret that we are tackling efforts to fight ISIS (Daesh), and Saudi Arabia plays a leading role in the alliance against ISIS. The Saudi authorities previously discussed such idea, and it would not be the last time they do so. These talks are serious,” Kirby was quoted by the paper as saying.
Saudi Arabia and another Gulf country had previously said they were willing to send ground troops to fight Daesh in Syria as part of a US-led coalition.
This was repeated in February by Brig. Gen. Ahmad Al-Assiri, consultant in the office of the Defense Ministry, who said the kingdom was ready for a ground war in Syria.
Al-Jubeir and Kerry met following the suicide bomb attacks in three cities in the kingdom on Monday. In the first attack believed to be meant for the US Consulate in Jeddah, the suicide bomber managed to kill only himself when he detonated his suicide vest after being confronted by security forces at 2:15 a.m.
Two suicide bombers also killed only themselves when they exploded their suicide bombs outside a Shiite mosque in Qatif, Eastern Province, just as Muslims were breaking their fast at sundown. At almost the same time, a young man exploded his vest outside a police station near the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah, killing himself and four police officers and wounding several others.
Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir made the suggestion during an impromptu meeting with US Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday evening, during which Kerry expressed his condolences to the victims of the terror attacks in the kingdom.
The US Consulate in Jeddah was believed to be one of the targets of a series of suicide bombings in the kingdom on Monday. The suicide bomber managed to kill only himself when he detonated his suicide vest after being confronted by security forces at 2:15 a.m. at a parking lot near the consulate.
Two suicide bombers also killed only themselves when they exploded their suicide bombs outside a Shiite mosque in Qatif, Eastern Province, just as Muslims were breaking their fast at sundown. At almost the same time, a young man exploded his vest outside a police station near the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah, killing himself and four police officers and wounding several others.
Aside from discussing the latest terrorist attacks in the kingdom, Al-Jubeir and Kerry tackled the importance of fighting and defeating Daesh, US State Department spokesman John Kirby told Asharq Al-Awsat.
They also discussed means to reach a political transition in Syria as well as the latest developments in Libya, Yemen and the Israeli-Palestine conflict.
Kirby said the US “looks at the Saudi suggestion very seriously,” but added that both countries have yet to reached a final decision.
“It is not a secret that we are tackling efforts to fight ISIS (Daesh), and Saudi Arabia plays a leading role in the alliance against ISIS. The Saudi authorities previously discussed such idea, and it would not be the last time they do so. These talks are serious,” Kirby was quoted by the paper as saying.
Saudi Arabia and another Gulf country had previously said they were willing to send ground troops to fight Daesh in Syria as part of a US-led coalition.
This was repeated in February by Brig. Gen. Ahmad Al-Assiri, consultant in the office of the Defense Ministry, who said the kingdom was ready for a ground war in Syria.
Al-Jubeir and Kerry met following the suicide bomb attacks in three cities in the kingdom on Monday. In the first attack believed to be meant for the US Consulate in Jeddah, the suicide bomber managed to kill only himself when he detonated his suicide vest after being confronted by security forces at 2:15 a.m.
Two suicide bombers also killed only themselves when they exploded their suicide bombs outside a Shiite mosque in Qatif, Eastern Province, just as Muslims were breaking their fast at sundown. At almost the same time, a young man exploded his vest outside a police station near the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah, killing himself and four police officers and wounding several others.
