克里抵巴格达商讨应对伊斯兰国问题

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is meeting in Baghdad with the new Iraqi government to help coordinate the fight against Islamic State militants.

Kerry, who is beginning a week-long tour in the region, landed early Wednesday in the Iraqi capital, where he will meet with Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi.

The U.S. hopes the new government can unite Iraq, unlike its previous leaders, who were blamed for marginalizing the Sunni minority and helping give rise to extremists.

Kerry's talks come ahead of a Wednesday speech in which President Barack Obama will lay out his strategy to deal with the extremist group, which controls parts of Iraq and Syria.

White House officials have given no specifics on what Mr. Obama plans to say. The president has already ruled out sending U.S. forces back into Iraq.

On Tuesday the president briefed Democratic and Republican leaders from both houses of Congress on his plan.

The United States has already carried out 153 airstrikes on Islamic State targets inside Iraq, and U.S. officials have discussed the possibility of expanding that campaign.

Ahead of his trip, Kerry said the U.S. is trying to form a broad global coalition to "confront, degrade and ultimately defeat" the Islamic State group.