The United States and Iraq have welcomed a Saudi proposal calling for the creation of a security force from Muslim countries to serve in Iraq.
U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell and Iraq's Prime Minister Iyad Allawi discussed the idea in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia Thursday.
Mr. Allawi called on Islamic and Arab countries to join ranks in fighting what he called the forces of evil acting against Iraqis.
A senior Saudi official says the security force would be drawn from Muslim countries in the Middle East and Asia, but not from Iraq's immediate neighbors.
In a statement posted on an Islamist website, a militant group -- reportedly linked to terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi -- threatened to attack Muslim nations that send troops to Iraq.