Thirty countries have pledged to help Iraq fight
Islamic State (IS) militants "by all means
necessary".
A joint statement by foreign ministers taking part
in a major conference in Paris said support would
include "appropriate military assistance".
The talks had been called to agree a strategy to
combat the group, which controls large parts of
Iraq and Syria.
The meeting followed a whirlwind tour of the
Middle East by US Secretary of State John Kerry.
Mr Kerry, who attended the summit, has been
drumming up support for a plan of action unveiled
by President Barack Obama last week.
The CIA estimates that Islamic State has between
20,000 and 31,000 fighters in Iraq and Syria.
The murder of British aid worker David Haines by
IS militants, shown in a video released by the
group on Saturday, has added momentum to the
plans.
Another layer of conflict is being grafted on to a
series of parallel and overlapping wars in Syria
and Iraq.
Enemies of the Syrian regime, including Saudi
Arabia, will want to calculate how much their
actions against Islamic State might strengthen
President Bashar al-Assad - who has men tied up
fighting IS.
Iran and Saudi Arabia, regional superpowers, back
opposing sides in Syria. They will look very
closely to see if American actions indirectly help
their rival.
Some Islamist fighters in Syria who have been
trained and armed by Saudi Arabia or Qatar have
already gravitated to IS. Opposition to Western
involvement might make more follow.
And the US and its Western allies are becoming
direct players in the wars in Syria and Iraq - and
in the deepening sectarian conflict between Shia
and Sunni Muslims.
Many argue that the Americans and the British
tore open sectarian scars when they invaded Iraq
in 2003, and now risk making matters even
worse.
Daunting task ahead for US-led coalition
How will Obama's anti-IS coalition work?
'Bigger threat'
Iraqi President Fuad Masum, who co-hosted the
conference with French President Francois
Hollande, said the international community must
pursue the jihadists "quickly".
The conference will focus on what the
international community can do to help Iraqi
troops fight IS militants
Kurdish Peshmerga fighters have been battling
the Islamists near the key city of Mosul
IS militants possess significant military
resources and have taken over large parts of
Iraq and Syria
"If this intervention and support to Iraq is late,
that means that Islamic State could occupy more
territory and the threat it poses will be even
bigger," he said.
The summit declaration said participants were
"committed to supporting the new Iraqi
government in its fight... by any means
necessary, including appropriate military
assistance".
Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim Jafari welcomed
the decision, but also said he regretted that Iran
was not present at the Paris talks.
Last week Mr Kerry ruled out co-operation with
Iran citing its "engagement in Syria and
elsewhere".
But Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei claimed on Monday that the US had
requested Iran's co-operation via the US
Ambassador to Iraq.
"I said no, because they have dirty hands," he
said. He added the US was seeking seeking a
"pretext to do in Iraq and Syria what it already
does in Pakistan - bomb anywhere without
authorisation".
Syria also did not take part in the Paris
gathering.
'Doing their share'
Meanwhile, France said it had begun surveillance
flights over Iraq. Britain revealed in August that
its aircraft had been gathering intelligence over
Iraq.
Several Arab countries have offered to take part
in air strikes on IS fighters in Iraq, US officials
say.
Turkey, however, will only allow humanitarian and
logistical operations from the Nato air base on its
soil.
Mr Kerry said he was "extremely encouraged" by
promises of military assistance to tackle the
militant group.
The US strategy to weaken the group centres on
military support for Iraq but also includes plans
to stop foreign fighters from joining the group,
cutting its funding streams and trying to counter
its ideology.
The Paris conference was aimed at defining the
role each member state will play.
About 40 countries have so far signed up to a
coalition including 10 Arab states - Egypt, Iraq,
Jordan, Lebanon, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar,
Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
Iraqi and Kurdish forces have been helped in
their battle against IS by 160 US air strikes
since August
John Kerry visited Iraq last week during a tour
of the region to drum up support for action
against IS
Australia announced at the weekend that it was
sending 600 troops and up to eight fighter jets to
the UAE ahead of possible combat operations in
Iraq.
However, Mr Kerry told US broadcaster CBS that
the US was not seeking troops on the ground at
the moment.
Since August, US fighter jets have conducted
about 160 air strikes on IS positions in Iraq.
The group's former name was Isis and it has also
been known as Isil (Islamic State in Iraq and the
Levant).
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