Turkey, Saudi Arabia Must Share Intel With Russia, Iraq, Iran, Syria

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Turkey and Saudi Arabia should join the intelligence sharing agreement reached recently by Russia, Iraq, Syria and Iran in order to defeat the Islamic State (ISIL) militant group, a member of the Syrian opposition told Sputnik on Wednesday.

The four countries began an intelligence and security cooperation since last week. A data exchange center will be established in Baghdad in coming months to facilitate reconnaissance sharing within the group. The agreement predated an announcement by Moscow to launch a separate air campaign against ISIL in Syria.

"This cooperation is necessary. It is a right way to deal with this matter between different countries and organizations. Without coordination between these four countries (Russia, Syria, Iran, Iraq), Turkey and Saudi Arabia, the Islamic State will never be beaten," Samir Aita, of the Syrian Democratic Forum opposition party, told Sputnik.

The Baghdad Information Center is expected to be headed by military officers from Russia, Syria, Iran, and Iraq on a three-month rotation basis.

Saudi Arabia and Turkey have been carrying out airstrikes against ISIL militants in the Middle East since August 2014.