Saudi to Nasrallah: The Parties Embracing Terrorism Have Become Well-Known

Saudi Arabia stressed Thursday that it was the first country to engage in the fight against terrorism, in an apparent response to recent remarks by Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.

The kingdom was “among the first states that fought terrorism and suffered its attacks,” Saudi National Guard Minister Prince Mutaib bin Abdullah said.

“I believe that the parties embracing and supporting terrorism have become well-known,” Mutaib added.

Saudi Arabia's state-run news agency SPA did not publish the minister's statement, but the Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya TV described it as a response to Nasrallah's remarks.

Hizbullah's chief had on Monday said that Saudi Arabia must shoulder a bigger responsibility in the fight against the extremist ideology of the Islamic State group, noting that military efforts alone cannot eradicate the jihadist organization.

“Nowadays, the prime responsibility in the Islamic world for stopping the proliferation of this ideology falls on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” Nasrallah said in a televised speech.

“It is not enough to create an international coalition and bring the armies of the world to fight ISIL (Islamic State). My remarks are addressed to everyone: close the schools that are educating the followers of this ISIL ideology … and stop labeling people as polytheists for the most trivial reasons,” Nasrallah added.

In June, the IS declared an "Islamic caliphate" straddling vast swathes of Iraq and Syria, ordering Muslims worldwide to pledge allegiance to their chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

The U.S. has formed a coalition of Western and Arab allies to battle IS, which has been accused of widespread atrocities in Iraq and Syria, including mass executions, beheadings, rape, torture and selling women and children into slavery.