French President François Hollande will visit Iraq on Friday to underscore his support for the fight against Islamic State militants ahead of a conference on Iraqi security set for September 15 in Paris, his office said in a statement Tuesday.

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"With the agreement of the Iraqi authorities, the president has confirmed that an international conference on the peace and security of Iraq will take place in Paris on September 15," a statement from the Elysée presidential palace said.

"It will bring together the international and regional partners who share this goal and who are helping to bring it about."

Iraqi President Fuad Masum as well as regional and international leaders will attend the talks, the Elysée said.

Islamic State jihadists, also known as ISIS or ISIL, have taken over vast areas of northern Iraq as well as parts of Syria since launching a major offensive in early June, forcing hundreds of thousands to flee their advance.

The statement from Hollande's office came the same day that Britain announced it would be shipping arms and artillery to Kurdish forces fighting Islamic State militants inside Iraq.

UK Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said Tuesday that the initial shipment "will consist of heavy machine guns and ammunition", noting that the Kurds are "significantly less well-equipped" than the jihadists they are facing.

'Core' alliance

On the sidelines of a NATO summit last week, US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel told defence and foreign ministers from Britain, France, Germany, Canada, Australia, Turkey, Italy, Poland and Denmark that they, along with the United States, formed the "core" of an alliance to tackle the Sunni militant group.

"It is the core group that will form the larger and extended coalition that's going to be required to deal with this challenge," he said.

Hollande agreed to take part in an international coalition if Baghdad and the United Nations approved its actions.

"France is ready to act, but once a political accord is there and with respect to international law," he said.

The Department of Defence announced Tuesday that US forces had launched new strikes on Islamic State targets in recent days to support Iraqi forces and Sunni tribal fighters protecting the Haditha Dam and the Kurdish regional capital of Erbil.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, REUTERS)

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