US Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday urged Iraqi prime minister-designate Haidar al-Abadi quickly to form an inclusive government, while ruling out sending US combat troops to the country.

US Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday urged Iraqi prime minister-designate Haidar al-Abadi quickly to form an inclusive government, while ruling out sending US combat troops to the country.

"We are urging him to form a new cabinet as swiftly as possible and the US stands ready to support a new and inclusive Iraqi government and particularly its fight against ISIL," he said.

"Let me be very clear, we have always wanted an inclusive government that represents ... all Iraqis. That is the goal."

While the US has been conducting air strikes against Takfiri militants in northern Iraq, Kerry said combat troops would not be sent.

"There will be no reintroduction of American combat forces into Iraq. This is a fight that Iraqis need to join on behalf of Iraq," he added.

But the United States has begun helping ship weapons to the Iraqi Kurdish forces battling an advance by the ISIL, the State Department said.