DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The United Arab Emirates is calling for a coordinated international approach to tackle the “global scourge” of terrorism, citing a particular concern about the threat posed by the Islamic State militant group that has seized large swaths of Iraq and Syria.
The U.S.-allied Gulf nation’s Foreign Affairs Ministry made the appeal in a statement Wednesday in which it expressed its “deepest concerns and strongest condemnation” of terrorist acts by extremist groups.
The Emirates is a seven-state federation that includes the oil-rich capital of Abu Dhabi and the Middle East’s commercial hub, Dubai.
It has provided backing for some of the Sunni rebel groups fighting in Syria. U.S. officials say it and Egypt were behind airstrikes against Islamist-backed militants in Libya last month. The UAE has not commented on the airstrikes.
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