(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Terrorist threats are no longer limited to a particular area or region but have spread across the world. This is why nations have joined hands to fight extremism, said a top UAE military officer.

Major-General Saleh Mohammed Saleh Al Ameri, Commander of Land Forces in the UAE military, said during his keynote speech at the inauguration of the Counter-Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) Lessons Learned Conference in Abu Dhabi that it is statistically undeniable that terrorist violence has spread across the globe.

"Today's terrorist violence is more intense and widespread than it was decades ago. The phenomena of violent extremism and terrorism have not only become threats to international peace and development, but also become increasingly transnational, far-reaching and boundary-less," said Al Ameri.

He explained that the main purpose of the conference is to increase cooperation and exchange of information, experiences and lessons learned in order to counter the IED threat. "This will be a great benefit for all of us to avoid mistakes and not waste resources on developing equipment that has already proven of no avail," Al Ameri. "The success of holding this conference with the participation of more than 25 states and organisations comes only in response to the urgent needs and requirements of our nations and the people, and the participation of the UN in this conference is a clear demonstration of its interest in fighting all forms and types of terrorism.

"Nations need to come together to protect the innocent people who always fall victims to the IEDs." The UAE military officer said that extremism has become a global danger, threatening communities and has catastrophic implications that affect people and the internal security of countries.

Discussing the Counter-IED Lessons Learned from Operations in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria, Russell Faulkner, Advisor, Joint Expeditionary Team (JET) in the USA, said more victim suicide vehicles and victim operated IEDs had been used by terror groups in Afghanistan than in Iraq and Syria which caused a lot of threat to civilians. He said attacking networks in such cases had to be strategic to avoid civilian victims. The two-day conference seeks to know the latest threats and IEDs used in places of conflict, and the latest technologies and techniques in fighting IEDs.

Ismail Sebugwaawo

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