BAGHDAD (AP) — U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin paid an unannounced visit to the Iraqi capital Baghdad on Tuesday, days before the 20th anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.

Austin was greeted by Major General Matthew McFarlane, commander of US troops in Iraq. Austin is expected to meet senior officials during his visit to Iraq, where hundreds of his troops are helping fight the extremist group Islamic State.

Since the 2003 invasion that ousted dictator Saddam Hussein from power, Iraq has been a sticking point between the United States and Iran, with Tehran having greatly expanded its influence in the neighboring country over the past 20 years. .

“I am here to reaffirm the strategic partnership between the United States and Iraq as we move towards a more secure, stable and sovereign Iraq,” Austin tweeted upon arriving in the country.

Despite their defeat in Iraq in 2017, Islamic State fighters and their sleeper cells continue to launch attacks in the country, as well as in neighboring Syria. The radical militia has killed and injured dozens of Iraqi soldiers in recent months.

The United States has urged countries around the world to repatriate their citizens from al-Hol camp in northeastern Syria, which is home to tens of thousands of people, mostly women and children, linked to the group extremist. The vast majority are Iraqis and Syrians.

Iraq has repatriated more than 500 women and children from al-Hol in recent weeks.

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