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Shaikh Khalid, 2nd from left, with representatives of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan
and UAE during a meeting with President Obama and other officials

Terror fight against IS 'may go on for years'

MANAMA, October 8, 2014

Bahrain’s Foreign Minister has said military action against the Islamic State (IS) is part of a broader fight against terrorism that could go on for years.

The country and regional allies Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan and the UAE have actively participated in air strikes on IS positions as part of a coalition led by the US since last month, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa admitted the problem was unlikely to be resolved in the short term.

“We must remain committed for as long as it is necessary,” he said in an interview with the pan-Arab Al Hayat newspaper, which was later translated by the AI Monitor news site.

“Otherwise we will suffer for years.”

IS has taken over large swathes of Iraq and Syria since it launched a bloody offensive to create a self-proclaimed Islamic Caliphate in June.

While the US has been at the forefront of the international response, Shaikh Khalid said the battle was not America's alone.

“While we did stand in support of the US leadership on this issue, the battle is not America's alone,” he said.

“It is ours. Those are factions that targeted us as nations - that targeted our people, history, culture and everything related to us.

“We must thank the US for its interest in this matter and its desire to stand with its allies.

“Furthermore, this was not the first time that we stood by our brothers and allies. We fought alongside them in Afghanistan and co-operated with them in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean, in addition to working with them on a daily basis to protect the waters of the Arabian Gulf.

“This is not a first for us, lest you forget the liberation of Kuwait.”

Shaikh Khalid said Bahrain considered that it had to act, saying the 'IS problem' and terrorism were not confined just to Syria.

“We are looking at the bigger picture and the greater danger that threatens us all,” he said, stating that if Bahrain had not acted 'we would have failed ourselves and our people, as well as undermined our role in the world'.

Shaikh Khalid revealed he and other GCC officials, whose countries took part in strikes on IS, pledged to continue the fight against terrorism during a meeting with US President Barack Obama in New York.

“We stressed to him that terrorism was not confined to this particular battle, for it is but a battle in a wider war that may drag on and on,” he added. - TradeArabia News Service




Tags: Bahrain | fight | Terror | IS |

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