PARIS (AP) — France is hosting a conference next month to raise money and rally support for Mideast Christians and other minorities persecuted by the Islamic State group.

The conference Sept. 8 will focus on humanitarian efforts to support ethnic and religious groups in Syria and Iraq who have become key targets of IS extremists, suffering mass executions, sex slavery and other abuses.

Diplomats from some 60 countries are expected to join the conference, co-hosted by Jordan, according to a French diplomat who spoke on condition of anonymity because she wasn't authorized to be publicly named. Military solutions aren't on the table.

France is taking part in U.S.-led airstrikes in Iraq against the group, and is worried about fallout from extremist violence at home by French radicals who support IS.