US President Barack Obama authorized $25 million in "immediate military assistance" on Wednesday for the Iraqi government and Kurdistan Regional Government to help with military education and training, according to a memorandum posted on the White House website.
Obama is due to make a prime time address in the US tonight to argue that targeted military and an international coalition can defeat IS.
He is expected to say that he will not send conventional ground troops back to Iraq, even in the wake of the execution of two US journalists by Islamic state.
