Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and foreign ministers from a coalition of countries that have been helping his forces fight Islamic State militants are meeting Tuesday in Paris to discuss plans for retaking control of Iraq's Anbar province.
The talks come two weeks after the Islamic State group seized Ramadi, a provincial capital 125 kilometers west of Baghdad, prompting Mr. Abadi to call on militias to rush to the area to take part in a counter offensive that launched last week.
A senior U.S. State Department official said there will be a focus on the prime minister getting Sunni tribal fighters to take part in the fight against the militants in the predominantly Sunni province.
Secretary of State John Kerry will take part in the meetings remotely after breaking his leg in a bicycle crash in France and returning home for treatment.
Deputy Secretary of State Anthony Blinken will lead the U.S. delegation as the coalition discusses the months-long broader efforts to "degrade and destroy" the Islamic State group, including cutting off financing and the flow of foreign fighters to Iraq and Syria.