Kerry in Cairo to build anti-IS coalition

US Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Egypt's capital Cairo Saturday in a bid to build up a coalition to counter and defeat the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group, media reported.

The visit is the latest leg of his Middle East tour that has taken him to Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

Before his arrival, the top US diplomat managed to secure the support of 10 Arab nations for a global drive to clamp down on the terrorist group.

At a conference in Jeddah Thursday, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates pledged to "do their share" in the global fight against IS militants.

However, Kerry ruled out the possibility of including Iran in the coalition, saying it was "not appropriate" for Tehran to join talks on combating IS militants.

He also said it was "premature" to say what tasks individual coalition partners would have to perform.

In Cairo, Kerry is going to meet with Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi and brief the secretary general on the results of the Jeddah conference, Xinhua reported.

He will also hold talks with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry, as well as other senior Egyptian officials Saturday over "bilateral ties and regional issues of mutual concern", according to a foreign ministry statement.