AKIPRESS.COM - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will arrive in Egypt on Saturday amid U.S. attempts to form a broad coalition to tackle Islamic State (IS) militants, BBC reported.

He will meet Arab League Chief Nabil al-Arabi in Cairo on the latest leg of his Middle East tour.

Kerry has enlisted the support of 10 Arab states so far, including Saudi Arabia and Qatar, but on Friday he ruled out Iran joining the U.S.-led coalition.

On Friday, the CIA said IS has as many as 30,000 fighters in Syria and Iraq.

IS controls large parts of both countries and its fighters have become notorious for their brutality, but in recent weeks they have been targeted by U.S. air strikes.

On Wednesday, President Barack Obama unveiled plans for an expansion of the U.S. campaign against IS. He vowed to “hunt down terrorists who threaten our country, wherever they are.”

The 10 Arab countries to have signed up to the coalition are Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

Later on Saturday, John Kerry will meet with the Secretary General of the Arab League to discuss how the coalition will act against IS.

In recent months, IS has expanded from its stronghold in eastern Syria and seized control of more towns, cities, army bases and weaponry in Iraq.

The U.S. has already carried out more than 150 air strikes in northern Iraq. It has also sent hundreds of military advisers to assist Iraqi government and Kurdish forces, but has ruled out sending ground troops.