Obama, Iraqi Parliament Speaker Discuss Battle Against Islamic State

The speaker of Iraq's parliament, Saleem al-Jabouri, met with U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington on June 12 and secured an additional $9 million in humanitarian aid, the White House said.

Jabour was in a meeting with U.S. Vice President Joe Biden when Obama dropped by to discuss the ongoing fight against Islamic State, the White House said.

The additional aid brings the total U.S. assistance to Iraq since 2014 to $416 million.

U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter also met with Jabouri and a delegation of Iraqi parliamentarians at the Pentagon.

Carter and Jabouri agreed on the need to work closely with Sunni tribal fighters to defeat the militant group, the Pentagon said.

"Prime Minister [Haider] al-Abadi has a plan. We support the plan and we're part of the plan," said U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.

"We are making some critical decisions that are going to move the process forward in Iraq," he said.

Based on reporting by Reuters and AP