Secretary of State John Kerry praised Iraq's parliament for approving a new unity government, calling the step a milestone for the country and a "cornerstone" of U.S. efforts against Islamic State extremists.
Iraqi Parliament Approves New Prime Minister
![Secretary of State John Kerry at a State Department briefing said that Iraq has cleared a major milestone in the fight against the Islamic State militant group by forming a government that has pledged to ease sectarian tensions, in Washington, Sept. 8, 2014.](https://gdb.voanews.com/a232e5ae-661f-48f1-98e4-90217ca253c0_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Secretary of State John Kerry at a State Department briefing said that Iraq has cleared a major milestone in the fight against the Islamic State militant group by forming a government that has pledged to ease sectarian tensions, in Washington, Sept. 8, 2014.
![Rescue workers search a collapsed building from an early morning earthquake in Tainan, Taiwan, Feb. 6, 2016.](https://gdb.voanews.com/652e9843-9b99-4819-b0c7-5903eeebdbf9_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Rescue workers search a collapsed building from an early morning earthquake in Tainan, Taiwan, Feb. 6, 2016.
![Iraq's incoming Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi speaks to Iraqi lawmakers before submitting his government selections, in Baghdad, Sept. 8, 2014.](https://gdb.voanews.com/2e77af32-958f-44c0-8d4c-ae643b044d12_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Iraq's incoming Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi speaks to Iraqi lawmakers before submitting his government selections, in Baghdad, Sept. 8, 2014.
![Iraq's incoming Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, right, and Ammar al-Hakim, the leader of the Supreme Islamic Council of Iraq, during the session to approve the new government in Baghdad, Iraq, Sept. 8, 2014.](https://gdb.voanews.com/b395fc98-b66b-4101-ba60-9c5a582b4d72_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Iraq's incoming Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, right, and Ammar al-Hakim, the leader of the Supreme Islamic Council of Iraq, during the session to approve the new government in Baghdad, Iraq, Sept. 8, 2014.