Arab League calls for joint action against IS

Cairo, Sep 8: The Arab League has unanimously adopted a resolution to combat the

of the

(IS) Sunni extremist group, in order to protect Arab national security, media reported Monday.

However, the league's member states did not state their possible coordination with the US.

In a joint press conference Sunday, Arab League Secretary-General Nabil el-Araby said that the resolution was taken after discussions between Arab foreign ministers in light of growing influence of IS, locally known as 'Daesh' in Iraq and Syria, MENA reported.

"Arab nations are ready to cooperate with all international partners to wipe out terrorism and armed groups," El Arabi said.

The IS established in June an "Islamic caliphate" in the territories under its control in Syria and Iraq. Since then, its members have indulged in sustained persecution of non-Sunnis and other religious communities. The Arab League includes Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Lebanon, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

In June, the 22-member league of Arab states denounced the terrorist attacks that were being perpetrated by the IS against the Iraqi people, but rejected any attempts of interference in the domestic affairs of the conflict-stricken country.

The Arab foreign ministers also called on Arab states that are not yet members of "The Arab Convention on the Suppression of Terrorism" to join the effort as quickly as possible, calling for national and regional strategies against terrorism, Xinhua reported.

Reports prior to the meeting said that the Arab states would agree to coordinate with the US in containing the IS. But the meeting fell short of clearly adopting any stance in such cooperation.

On Saturday, the US said it was building a coalition to battle the threat from the IS. Speaking at the NATO summit in Wales, US President Barack Obama said a "core coalition" was being formed to tackle the IS threat, and Washington would destroy the group, just as it had gone after the Al Qaeda.

IANS