Baghdad - British Foreign Secretary David Miliband arrived on an
unannounced visit to Baghdad Thursday where he held talks with Iraqi
Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki over the security situation, an Iraqi
official said.

Miliband held talks with al-Maliki in the government headquarters
in Baghdad on security issues and British investments in Iraq, the
premier's media adviser told the Voices of Iraq news agency.

He had attended a regional conference of Iraq's neighbours and major international powers that was held in Kuwait on Tuesday.

About 4,500 British troops in Iraq are based near the airport in the southern city of Basra.

The troops have been involved since end of March alongside Iraqi
and US forces in fighting against the Mahdi Army militia of radical
cleric Moqtada al-Sadr in Basra. (dpa)