Obama calls new Iraqi PM to discuss ISIS threat

He also expressed his commitment to work with all communities in Iraq to strengthen their capabilities

President Barack Obama called Iraq's Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to congratulate him on the approval of a new government and discuss its efforts to fight Islamic State militants, the White House has said.

"Obama applauded the efforts of Prime Minister Abadi and other Iraqi leaders in forming a new, broad-based government, and underscored the need for the United States and Iraq to continue working closely with the international community to build on recent actions to counter the threat posed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant," the White House said.

Obama, during the call, 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 ISIS.

"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," a White House statement said, adding that they expressed their support for a strong strategic partnership between the US and Iraq.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State John Kerry hailed the formation of a new government in Baghdad as 'a major milestone' for Iraq.

Kerry told reporters at the State Department that the government formed in Baghdad had the potential to unite all of Iraq's diverse communities 'for a strong Iraq, a united Iraq and give those communities a chance to build a future that all Iraqis desire'.

He said, "Now is the time for Iraq's leaders to govern their nation with the same vision and sense of purpose that helped to bring this new government together in the first place."

"In that effort, they should know the US will stand shoulder to shoulder with the Iraqis as they implement their national plan to overcome the longstanding political and economic grievances that have for too long divided their country."

Kerry is travelling to the region to meet leaders on the current situation in Iraq and to build the broad coalition of partners to tackle ISIS threat. So far 10 countries, including the US, has joined this coalition.

"As we build this coalition, I want to underscore that almost every single country on Earth has a role to play in eliminating the ISIL threat and the evil that it represents," he said.