French President Francois Hollande flew to Iraq on Friday (September 12) to hold talks about fighting the advance of Islamic State militants.<br /><br />He met with the new Iraqi President Fuad Masoum in Baghdad and later flew to Irbil to meet with the leader of the Kurdish controlled region in the north.<br /><br />France has offered military support against Islamic State jihadists, as part of a coalition being formed by Washington. <br /><br />Hollande told reporters: “The goal is to co-ordinate aid, support and action for the unity of Iraq and against this terrorist group,”<br /><br />On Monday Paris will host an international conference to coordinate support in fighting them.<br /><br />Meanwhile US Secretary of State John Kerry was in Ankara, urging Turkish officials to support more military action against ISIL in Syria and Iraq<br /><br />Turkey has refused to allow its air bases to be used to launch attacks on the jihadist group, which is currently holding 49 Turkish citizens hostage.<br /><br />Ten Arab nations have agreed to help the US in its fight – the CIA says it may send more than 30,000 fighters.
