Foreign Minister Julie Bishop is calling for a US-led international coalition to combat the "terrifying challenge" of jihadist groups aiming to establish a caliphate in the Middle East.
Bishop said she's "deeply troubled" that 180 Australian citizens are known to be fighting with the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria or supporting it from Australia.
Bishop was speaking at a think tank in the US capital.
She met on Tuesday with US security chiefs and was to meet on Wednesday with Secretary of State John Kerry.
Australia currently has 600 personnel conducting air strikes and supporting Iraqi security forces, the second largest contribution to the international coalition.
Bishop said she didn't expect the US would be seeking more Australian support during her visit.
Bishop told the Brookings Institution that countries needed to join hands to counter the threat posed by jihadist groups promoting a "toxic Islamist ideology".
She said that 80 countries, including China and Russia - often viewed as strategic rivals of the US - have acknowledged they have citizens leaving to fight in the Middle East.
"I believe there has to be a significant coalition, again, as always, led by the United States, but with countries being prepared to step up and take their fair share of the burden to stem this terrifying challenge that we as nation-states currently face," Bishop said.
"We're all in this together," she said.
Bishop said the military effort in Iraq had disrupted the Islamic State group, but there's "a long way to go" to ensure Iraq can secure its citizens and territory.
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