Obama vows continued cooperation with Iraq

US President Barack Obama Monday pledged continued "close" cooperation with Iraq on combating the Islamic State (IS) militant group as the Middle East country's parliament okayed a new government.

In a phone conversation with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al- Abadi, Obama congratulated him on the approval of a new "broad- based" cabinet, stressing the need for the two countries to "continue working closely with the international community to build on recent actions to counter the threat" posed by the group, Xinhua quoted the White House as saying in a statement.

It said al-Abadi "expressed his commitment to work with all communities in Iraq as well as regional and international partners to strengthen Iraq's capabilities to fight against this common enemy".

Both the leaders "agreed on the importance of having the new government quickly take concrete steps to address the aspirations and legitimate grievances of the Iraqi people", the White House said.

US warplanes have bombed IS targets in northern Iraq since Aug 8.