Obama meets with advisers on Iraq, reaffirms support for Abadi - White House

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama was briefed by his top national security advisers on Tuesday on the situation in Iraq and the strategy to counter Islamic State militants, the White House National Security Council said in a statement. Obama "reaffirmed the strong U.S. support" for Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, the White House said after the meeting, which involved 25 advisers including Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of State John Kerry, Defense Secretary Ash Carter, and General Lloyd Austin of U.S. Central Command. There has been concern in the United States about the risk of sectarian strife in Ramadi, the capital of Sunni-majority Anbar province, because of the need to use Shi'ite militias to try to take back the city from Islamic State fighters. The White House said Obama welcomed a decision on Tuesday by the Iraqi Council of Ministers to accelerate the training and equipping of local tribes in coordination with authorities in Anbar province and expand recruitment into the Iraqi army. (Reporting by Roberta Rampton; Editing by Doina Chiacu)