US Vice President Joe Biden reassured Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi on Tuesday following remarks made by the US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter on Sunday when he questioned the Iraqi military’s "will to fight."

US Vice President Joe Biden reassured Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi on Tuesday following remarks made by the US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter on Sunday when he questioned the Iraqi military’s "will to fight."

Biden stressed that the US remained committed to helping Iraq fight the so-called 'Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant' (ISIL) - an effort at damage control after Defense Secretary Ash Carter questioned Iraqi troops' desire to fight.

Biden thanked Abadi for "the enormous sacrifice and bravery of Iraqi forces," according to the White House, and welcomed the decision to mobilize troops and "prepare for counterattack operations."

The vice president pledged full US support to "these and other Iraqi efforts to liberate territory from ISIL," according to the statement, which used an alternative acronym for a former name for the group.

On Sunday, Carter questioned whether Iraqi forces had the "will to fight." Abadi has since told the United Kingdom's BBC that the defense secretary "was fed the wrong information." Carter's remarks, Iraq's indignation and Biden's apologetic efforts come after IS took Ramadi over a week ago.