[caption id="attachment_41080" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and other leaders take the salute from armed forces in Hafr Al-Batin, Friday. — SPA photo[/caption] CUSTODIAN of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman inspected on Friday a mammoth military parade staged by armed forces from 20 Muslim countries, marking the conclusion of the region's biggest-ever military drills "North Thunder." Several heads of state and high ranking officials from Muslim countries were present to watch the impressive parade as a show of force from all the armies, Humvees and tanks in toe at the parade ground of King Khalid Military City in Hafr Al-Batin near the Kingdom's northern border with Iraq and Kuwait. On Thursday, the King and the other leaders attended a spectacular ceremony, at the end of the two-week-long counter-terrorism military exercise. Upon arrival of the King and the guests at the main podium of the military parade, the Saudi anthem was played. Then, Maj. Gen. Ibrahim Bin Isa Asiri, commander of the parade battalion, sought King Salman's permission to start the military parade. He invited the King to inspect the military units that took part in the military exercise. The King got in an open carriage to inspect the parade. Maj. Gen. Fahd Bin Abdullah Al-Mutair, commander of the Eastern Region and commander of the Land Troops participating in North Thunder, delivered a speech in which he thanked King Salman and the leaders of the Islamic and Arab states. He stated that the North Thunder exercise represents a quantum leap in the professional military operation reflecting rapid response and capabilities of the participating troops from the Arab and Islamic nations. "In the military exercise, all kinds of military operations have been successfully implemented contributing to raise the level of the combat readiness of the participating forces," Al-Mutair stressed. Later, King and the guests watched the impressive parade that started with the march past of the troops carrying national flags of the participating countries. The parade was a show of strength of the Arab and Muslim forces in confronting the enemy. Parachuters, fighter planes and Apache copters took part in the breath-taking military aerobatics that drew all-round cheers. The heads of state and leaders from the Muslim countries who were present to witness to the massive parade included Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif; King Hamad Bin Isa of Bahrain; King Abdullah of Jordan; Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad, emir of Qatar; President Omar Hassan Al-Bashir of Sudan; President Macky Sall of Senegal; President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz of Mauritania; President Ismail Omar Guelleh of Djibouti; President Dr. Ikililou Dhoinine of Comoros; President Abedrabbu Mansour Hadi of Yemen; Premier of the Moroccan government Abdulilah Benkirane; Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, crown prince of Abu Dhabi and deputy supreme commander of the armed forces of the United Arab Emirates; and Sheikh Khalid Al-Jarrah Al-Sabah, deputy prime minister and defense minister of Kuwait. Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Naif, deputy premier and minister of interior; Deputy Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, second deputy premier and minister of defense; Prince Saud Bin Naif, emir of the Eastern Province; Chief of Staff Gen. Abdurahman Al-Bunyan; and other high ranking Saudi civilian and military officials were also present. Earlier, King Salman and other leaders performed Friday prayers at the Royal Hospitality Mosque at the city. Sheikh Abdulaziz Bin Ali Bin Al-Noah led the prayers. In his sermon, Sheikh Al-Noah underscored the significance of enhanced cooperation and cohesion among Muslims in various fields to counter the challenges, evils of terrorism, intervention, and transgressions surrounding the Muslim countries. He also hailed Saudi Arabia's great efforts to close the ranks of Muslims and unite their words. "In this glorious period, King Salman, with his decisiveness and determination, has put this as his lofty goal," he said.
