Saudi Arabia deems Hezbollah terrorist group

RIYADH

Saudi Arabia on Friday declared the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist group, Al Arabiya News Channel reported.
The kingdom also included Lebanon-based Shia group Hezbollah on its terrorism list along with the Syria-based Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and the Nusra Front, an al Qaeda branch operating in Syria and Lebanon that was created in 2012.
According to the report, hundreds of Saudi fighters are believed to be members of ISIS and the Nusra Front in Syria.
Saudi authorities are urging those fighters to return home and have given them 15 days to do so.
Saudi Arabia’s cabinet earlier this week called for the withdrawal of all foreign fighters from Syria and demanded they face international justice if they committed war crimes there.
Riyadh is concerned that Saudi militants in Syria could turn their weapons on the kingdom.
Information and Culture Minister Abdelaziz Khoja said in a statement on Monday on behalf of the cabinet that the kingdom “renews its firm position condemning terrorism in all its forms”.
Last month, Saudi King Abdullah decreed it a crime for Saudi nationals to fight in foreign conflicts. The move was largely aimed at curbing extremist Saudis fighting alongside Syrian rebels.
Wahhabi volunteers from across the world have joined Syrian rebel groups, in particular an al Qaeda breakaway faction.
Lebanese and Iraqi Shias, meanwhile, are fighting on the government side.