US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld paid a surprise visit to the northern Iraqi city of Mosul before dawn on Friday to meet US troops and hold talks with US commanders.

Rumsfeld started his unannounced trip at an airfield outside the northern Iraqi city of Mosul. It was his eighth visit to Iraq and his previous one was Dec. 24 Christmas Eve trip.

U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld answers questions during a press conference after an informal meeting of Defense ministers of NATO member states, Thursday, Feb. 10, 2005, in Nice, southern France.

Rumsfeld met with wounded US soldiers at a field hospital and also with US commanders to discuss counter-insurgency operations. He told hundreds of US soldiers at the field, "The task ahead for us is to continue to help the Iraqi security forces to get onthe job. That will take some time."

"It's their country. It's their responsibility. And they're the ones who have that obligation."

He that the Jan. 30 elections had been a good day for Iraq. "Butthere are still challenges ahead," he said.

In Mosul, Rumsfeld met with governor of the city, Duraid Kashmolah, who said that the meeting was "about the security issue in the city as well as the country's historic elections."

Kashmolah denied that Rumsfeld's visit was to pave the way for US troops to storm the city in order to crack down on insurgency, saying "neither we have such intentions nor the Americans ... not before the election or after it."

Within the past few days alone, nearly 50 Iraqi soldiers, policemen and would-be recruits have been killed by suicide bombs in the cities of Baghdad, Baquba and Mosul.

Source: Xinhua