Speaking to reporters from Martha's Vineyard, US President Barack Obama congratulated Iraq's President Fouad Masoum and newly-nominated prime minister, Haider al-Abadi, encouraging the leadership to 'unite Iraq's different communities' and to 'form a new cabinet as quickly as possible.' Obama repeated his belief that a diverse, representative government in Baghdad was a necessary partner to meet the difficult task of confronting the Islamic State, a radical religious militia holding territory in eastern Syria and northern Iraq.
(photo credit: The Jerusalem Post)