Powell flies into Iraq on unannounced visit
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-07-30 14:04

US Secretary of State Colin Powell made an unannounced visit to Baghdad Friday, the most senior U.S. official to visit since the handover of sovereignty to an Iraqi government on June 28.

Powell met Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi in Saudi Arabia Thursday, where both welcomed a Saudi proposal for Muslim countries to send troops to Iraq.

Guerrillas have recently stepped up suicide car bombings, assassinations and kidnappings in Iraq in an effort to undermine Allawi and the U.S.-led coalition.

Iraq's interim government is heavily reliant on some 160,000 foreign troops while it builds up its own forces. Around 140,000 of them are from the United States.

Powell's visit follows a tour of Europe and the Middle East. His deputy Richard Armitage visited Iraq earlier this month.

Powell has made two trips to Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion which toppled former leader Saddam Hussein last year. His most recent visit was in March.

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