US Forms 'core coalition'

The US has announced it is forming a "core coalition" to battle Islamic State in Iraq, and has given the new bloc two weeks to finalise plans to help the Baghdad authorities and the Kurds in the north intensify the fight against the militants.

Speaking at the Nato summit in Wales, the US secretary of state, John Kerry, yesterday said that the 10-nation coalition would concentrate on shoring up those in Iraq who were fighting against Isis, but said intervention would not extend to western powers sending in troops.

"We need to attack them in ways that prevent them from taking over territory, to bolster the Iraqi security forces and others in the region who are prepared to take them on, without committing troops of our own," Kerry told a meeting of the 10 nations that will form the coalition. "Obviously I think that's a red line for everybody here: no boots on the ground."

He said the grouping should come up with firm plans by the time the UN general assembly meets for its annual session later this month.

The 10 nations are the US, Britain, France, Germany, Canada, Australia, Turkey, Italy, Poland and Denmark. Significantly, the group does not include any Arab nation and only one of Iraq's six neighbours.

The US has launched more than 100 air strikes on Isis positions in northern Iraq in the past month to try to check the progress of the militants, who have seized a vast swath of Syria and Iraq this summer.

But Pentagon officials have said that this military engagement will only contain the IS advance, not defeat them, and that a broader strategy and alliance is needed.

The decision was made at a joint meeting of defence and foreign office ministers chaired by Kerry and his British counterpart, Philip Hammond.

Britain has not ruled out joining US military action, although the first step would likely be to arm Kurdish fighters who are already confronting IS. France also has not ruled out military action, while Germany announced last week it would send military equipment including anti-tank rocket launchers, rifles and hand grenades, to Iraqi Kurds.

Pressure to tackle IS rose this week after the release of a video showing the execution of a second US journalist, with a British hostage also being threatened.

British Prime Minister David Cameron used the leaders' dinner on Thursday night at Cardiff Castle to urge allies not to pay ransoms, amid reports that hostages from France and Italy have been released following the payment of large sums.

It is likely the core coalition will put together a UN resolution endorsing military and political support for the Iraqi forces trying to oust Isis. It remains unclear whether there will be any mention of Syria at this stage, an issue that is likely to cause difficulty for Russia, a permanent member of the UN security council.

Menawhile, US Ambassador to UN, Samantha Power, expressed concern Thursday that undeclared Syrian chemical weapons could fall into the hands of Islamic extremists.

She raised the concerns as a joint UN and Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons mission winds up an drive to eliminate Syria's chemical arsenal.

A total of 1,300 tonnes of chemical agents have been removed from Syria and subsequently destroyed at sea.