US Defense Secretary Pat Shanahan will meet senior government officials, including Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi to discuss issues of mutual interest, including the presence of US troops in Iraq and US military pullout from Syria, a source with the Iraqi Foreign Ministry said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
Earlier this month, US President Donald Trump said US troops in Iraq were needed to observe Iran.
Washington has around 5.200 troops in Iraq to provide training to Iraqi forces.
Tuesday’s visit is the first by Shanahan to Iraq since he took over as the acting Pentagon chief after the resignation of Defense Minister Mike Mattis in December.