Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al- Abadi said on Friday that the French President Francois Hollande promised to take part in the airstrikes against Islamic State militants.

"Our air force capabilities are limited despite that we have qualified pilots who are doing good job, but we still need air support from our friends, and the French President promised me to join the air strikes against Daash," Abadi told reporters at a joint press conference with Hollande in Baghdad.

The Iraqi security forces, volunteers and the tribal fighters are capable of defeating Daash, the first Arabic letters of the Islamic State in Iraq and Levant, and "all what we need is the air support," Abadi said without giving further details about when such air strikes would begin.

"Iraq is under attack by terrorists launched from the Syrian territories after Daash organization seized whole cities there ( Syria) and has large launching pads to infiltrate to Iraq," Abadi said.

"We demand the international community to intervene to strike Daash bases in Syria, which they use to attack Iraq," Abadi added.

Hollande said that the Islamic State militants are not only a threat to Iraq, it is an international threat which must be fought by all world states.

"This organization includes militants from all over the world and when those return home, they would constitute a threat to the security and stability of their countries," Hollande said.

He said that France has sent three arms shipments to Iraq and is sending the fourth, in addition to humanitarian equipment.

Hollande also said that Paris will host Monday a conference on Iraq which will include political frame to coordinate the international efforts in fighting against terrorism, offering humanitarian aid and assistance in rebuilding the areas destroyed by the terrorism.

Earlier in the day, Hollande paid an official visit to Iraq and met with top Iraqi leaders, including his Iraqi counterpart Fuad Masoum.

The two leaders held a press conference in which Hollande said that his visit to Baghdad is an expression of solidarity with Iraq, "we are cooperating with Iraq in security and political field to confront the common enemy."

For his part, Masoum thanked Hollande for his efforts to hold an international conference to support Iraq in fighting terrorism, and wished that "the relationship between Iraq and France will always be friendly."

Hollande also held meetings with Parliament Speaker Salim al- Jubouri as well as other Iraqi officials and is expected to travel to Arbil, the capital of the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan to meet with the Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani, according to local media reports.

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