Kerry offers support for Iraq but without US troops on the ground JERUSALEM - John Kerry, US secretary of state, said on Sunday that the US would support Iraq as it combats al-Qaeda-linked militants who have seized cities in the country's west, but said that the US would not send troops, calling the battle "their fight." Mr Kerry made the comments as he left Jerusalem for Jordan and Saudi Arabia on Sunday to discuss his effort to broker peace between Israel and the Palestinians. He has had three days of lengthy meetings with Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. But the peace negotiations are likely to be overshadowed by the Islamic State in Iraq and Levant - the insurgent group - seizing control of Fallujah and Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province. Ramadi was a stronghold of Sunni insurgents during the US-led war. Al-Qaeda militants largely took both cities over last week and have been fending off incursions by government forces there since. ISIL is also one of the strongest rebel units in Syria, where it has imposed a strict version of Islamic law in territories that it holds and has kidnapped and killed anyone it deems critical of its rule. The group on Saturday also claimed responsibility for a suicide car bombing in a Shia-dominated neighbourhood in Lebanon. In comments before leaving Jerusalem, Mr Kerry said that the US was "very, very concerned" by the fighting, calling members of the group "the most dangerous players in that region." "We will stand with the government of Iraq and with others who will push back against their efforts to destabilise," Mr Kerry said. We are going to do everything that is possible. I will not go into the details. Mr Kerry added: "We are not contemplating putting boots on the ground. This is their fight. The US diplomat is in the region trying to keep peace talks on track between Israel and the Palestinians. Mr Kerry has said that progress was being made, yet key hurdles were yet to be overcome. "Now is not the time to get trapped in the sort of up and down of the day-to-day challenges," Mr Kerry said on Sunday. We don't have the luxury of dwelling on the obstacles that we all know could distract us from the goal . . . What we need to do is lift our sights and look ahead and keep in mind the vision of what can come if we can move forward. Mr Kerry is trying to nudge Mr Abbas and Mr Netanyahu closer to a peace pact that would establish a Palestinian state alongside Israel. The talks have entered an intense phase aimed at getting the two sides to agree on a framework and provide guidance towards a final settlement. Reaching a deal on that framework is not expected on this trip, Mr Kerry's 10th to the region for peace talks. Ahead of Mr Kerry's arrival in the region this week, Israel had said it would announce plans to build 1,400 new Jewish settlement homes in the occupied territories. But Israel backed off making the announcement, at least while Mr Kerry was around. Mr Kerry's talks on Sunday with Jordan's King Abdullah II and Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah also are likely to touch on the war in Syria and Iran's nuclear programme.