'No boots on the ground to battle ISIS': Kerry's pledge but he calls for NATO allies to commit to air strikes

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has issued a dramatic call to arms against Islamic State militants, urging world leaders to join a 'core coalition' to end their murderous rampage through Iraq, but ruled out putting 'boots on the ground'.

The Vietnam War hero made the rallying cry on the second day of Nato's military alliance summit in South Wales, where the issue of air strikes on IS insurgents sits top of the agenda.

He spoke less than an hour after Nato leaders looked to the skies for a flypast by a fleet of 22 warplanes from nine countries in a dramatic - and pertinent - grandstand of the alliance's awesome aerial might.

'We need to attack them in ways that prevent them from taking over territory, to bolster the Iraqi security forces and others in the region who are prepared to take them on, without committing troops of our own,' U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told a meeting of 10 nations. Obviously I think that's a red line for everybody here: no boots on the ground.'No boot on ground: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry asked world leaders to join a 'core coalition' to end the Islamic State's murderous rampage through Iraq and Syria, but ruled out putting 'boots on the ground'