US, Arab allies agree to curb flow of funds to IS

The US and its several Arab allies agreed in a meeting Thursday to join a campaign against the Sunni militant group Islamic State (IS), media reports said.

In a joint communique after a day of talks in Saudi Arabia, the US, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and six Gulf Arab states said they also agreed to stop the flow of funds and fighters to IS and help rebuild "communities brutalised" by the group, Xinhua reported citing Arab News.

The US Secretary of State John Kerry highlighted the important role of Arab states in combating IS. Kerry said he and other administration officials were implementing the plan announced late Wednesday by US President Barack Obama to dismantle IS insurgency movement, according to Saudi Press Agency.

"We are uniting the world against a unified threat, and the president's strategy will succeed because doing it with allies and partners isn't just smart, it's strong," said Kerry, who met with several regional foreign ministers Thursday in Jeddah.

Kerry will be in Turkey Friday to rally Ankara's active support for the campaign against IS militants. The Turkish foreign ministry said in a statement Thursday that Kerry would meet his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu as well as Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and President Tayyip Erdogan during his two-day visit to the capital Ankara.

Kerry will Saturday meet Secretary General of the Arab League Nabil Al-Arabi to discuss regional issues.