The US are putting together a coalition to counter Islamic State militants in Iraq but no ground troops will be committed, US Secretary of State John Kerry said on Friday.

Foreign and defence ministers from Australia, Canada, Britain, Denmark, France, Germany. Italy, Poland, Turkey and the US met on the sidelines of NATO summit in Wales to discuss a strategy for addressing the threat of the Sunni jihadist group which has taken over territories in northern and western Iraq and eastern Syria in recent months.

"We need to attack them in ways that prevent them from taking over territory, to bolster the Iraqi security forces and others in the region who are prepared to take them on, without committing troops of our own," Reuters quoted Kerry as saying at the meeting.

US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told the meeting that the group of 10 countries is the ‘core coalition’ that “will form the larger and extended coalition that's going to be required to deal with this challenge."

According to an unnamed NATO official while individual members and partners would provide security assistance, the alliance would help coordinate supplies and serve as a clearing house to matching available airlift with deliveries, Reuters said.