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Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah ordered all necessary measures to protect the Kingdom against potential “terrorist threats,” a Royal Court statement said Thursday.

The king gave the order after chairing a meeting of the National Security Council to discuss fallout from developments in neighboring Iraq.

“Concerned for the Kingdom’s national security against any measures that terrorist organizations or any other groups might resort to, that could destabilize security of the homeland, he (the king) has ordered all necessary measures to protect the gains of the homeland and its stability, and the security of the Saudi people,” the statement said.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State John Kerry had talks on Thursday with the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the UAE as part of frenetic diplomacy to tackle militants threatening to tear apart Iraq.

“Iraq, obviously, is one of the predominant points, the move of ISIL concerns every single country here,” Kerry told reporters before the meeting at the US ambassador’s residence in Paris. “In addition to that, we have an ongoing crisis in Syria, where ISIL is also involved.”

The militant Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has spearheaded a lightning advance through Iraq and — aided by other militants, tribal leaders and remnants of Saddam Hussein’s Baath Party — seized large swathes of the country this month.



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