US Secretary of Defence Ashton Carter made an unannounced visit to Baghdad on Monday for talks with Iraqi officials on the war against the Islamic State jihadist group, Baghdad AFP reports.
The US is leading an international coalition that is carrying out strikes against IS and also providing training and other assistance to forces fighting the jihadists in both Iraq and neighbouring Syria.
Carter will meet officials including Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and Defence Minister Khaled al-Obeidi to discuss increasing American military assistance to Iraq ahead of the key battle for second city Mosul.
"The fight for Mosul is critical... and it's a very large urban scenario," a senior defence official said.
"We are going to need to be more aggressive," the official said.
