US Secretary of State John Kerry said Wednesday that the Iraqi army will be rebuilt as part of a "global strategy".

US Secretary of State John Kerry said Wednesday that the Iraqi army will be rebuilt as part of a "global strategy".

The Iraqi army "will be reconstituted and trained and worked on in terms of a number of different strategies through the help not just of the United States but of other countries also," Kerry said during a visit to Baghdad.

But it was unclear how rebuilding the country's army squares with repeated assertions by Kerry and other American officials that US troops will not return to Iraq.

Kerry's previously unannounced visit in Baghdad was the first stop on a regional tour to build support for a new US strategy against ISIL, which he has said will only work with the backing of the "broadest possible coalition of partners around the globe."

Kerry will "discuss how the United States can increase its support to Iraq's new government in our common effort to defeat (ISIL) and the threat that it poses to Iraq, the region, and the world," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki had said in a statement.

A State Department official travelling with Kerry told reporters that the top US diplomat would also meet with President Fuad Masum, parliament speaker Salim al-Juburi and Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari.

Iraq "will have a critical role in this effort to have a global coalition to begin to degrade and ultimately defeat" ISIL, the official said.

Earlier, media reports said that Kerry is set to arrive in the Gulf on Wednesday to help build a broad coalition against ISIL.

Saudi Arabia is to host talks on Thursday between Kerry and ministers from 10 Arab states and Turkey on joint action against ISIL.

The talks coincide with a much-touted address from President Barack Obama at the White House, where he will outline a strategy to confront ISIL.

Foreign ministers of Gulf states will be among those attending Thursday's talks in the Saudi city of Jeddah, along with top diplomats from Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and Iraq itself.

They will address "terrorism in the region, extremist organizations behind it and means of fighting them," Saudi state media said.

The Arab League, which has stopped short of explicitly backing ongoing US air strikes against ISIL, also drummed up regional support for the fight.