Secretary of State John Kerry is set to arrive in the Gulf later today to help build a broad coalition against militants in Iraq and Syria that has already won support from Arab nations.
Saudi Arabia is to host talks on Thursday between Kerry and ministers from 10 Arab states and Turkey on joint action against the Islamic State (IS) terror group.
The talks coincide with a much-touted address from President Barack Obama at the White House, where he will outline a strategy to confront IS and address criticism that he has been slow to respond to a wave of atrocities that has shocked the world.
Britain also announced on Tuesday that it will ship $2.6 million (two million euros) worth of weapons to Kurdish forces in Iraq, to help roll back the militants´ lightening advances.
