By Xinhua
Baghdad : U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who flew into Iraq’s northern city of Mosul on an unannounced visit earlier on Wednesday, has arrived in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, a U.S. official said.
“I can confirm that Mr. Gates is in Baghdad now,” Abdul Latif al-Rayyan, a media office advisor of the Multi-National Forces in Iraq, told Xinhua.
Earlier in the day, Rayyan said that Gates flew to Mosul, some 400 km north of Baghdad, after he paid a visit to Afghanistan where he urged the international community to curb the escalating violence there.
Gates is expected to meet U.S. top officials, military commanders and the Iraqi leaders, including Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.
The visit is the sixth for Gates since he took over his post as Pentagon chief about a year ago.
Gates is expected to use his visit to assess the progress that has been made in the recent months, including taking the advantage from the current calm to achieve national reconciliation among the conflicting Iraqi factions.