US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld began a day-long visit to Iraq on Friday morning to review Iraqi security forces and talk with Iraqi and American commanders.

The eighth visit by the Pentagon chief to Iraq was unannounced for security reasons and came just seven weeks after his Dec. 24 Christmas Eve visit with US troops.

Pentagon spokesman Lawrence Di Rita told reporters that the secretary aimed to recognize the success of the Jan. 30 elections in Iraq and make a personal appraisal of the training of Iraqi security forces.

The visit came a day after Rumsfeld met with NATO defense ministers to boost their contributions to the US-led training efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Source: Xinhua