Iraq, head of the Pentagon arrives 20 years after the US invasion

BAGHDAD - The US defense secretary arrived in Iraq on Tuesday for a surprise visit two weeks before the 20th anniversary of the US invasion of the country, which led to the overthrow of Saddam. "I am here to consolidate the US-Iraq strategic partnership as we move towards a more secure, stable and sovereign Iraq," Lloyd Austin wrote on social media after landing in Baghdad.

Austin's visit was preceded by a number of foreign officials, including Iranian, Russian and Saudi foreign ministers and UN chief Antonio Guterres. The US representative arrived in Iraq just days before the 20th anniversary of the invasion that started two decades of bloodshed in the country. Speaking of the Austin visit, an unnamed source told Reuters that "what they [Iraqis] will hear him say will be about the compromise of maintaining a presence, but it's not just about the military tool. The US is broadly interested in a partnership strategy with the government of Iraq".

Since US-led coalition troops invaded Iraq in 2003 and toppled Saddam Hussein's regime, Iraq's Shiite majority has ruled the country under a power-sharing sectarian system.