Blair arrives in Iraq

British Prime Minister Tony Blair arrived in Iraq on Saturday, the British embassy in Baghdad said, confirming what was likely to be his last visit to the country before he leaves office.

The visit was not announced in advance for security reasons, and the embassy would not release details of his programme. Blair has announced that he will step down as British leader on June 27 after 10 years in office.

An official in Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's office confirmed that the two leaders would meet but could not say when.

In March 2003, Blair ordered British forces to take part in the US-led invasion of Iraq and, four years on, 7,100 are still deployed in and around the southern city of Basra battling insurgents and illegal militias.

Last month, 12 British troops were killed in Iraq, in the bloodiest single month for their force since the invasion itself, and their two remaining bases in the country come under almost daily mortar and rocket fire.

Domestic public support for the war has plummeted and Blair had previously announced that British forces would begin to withdraw from Iraq in August.

Meanwhile, Basra itself is in the grip of a vicious turf war between rival Shiite factions bent on controlling Iraq's massive oil exports.

Blair stands by his decision to take part in the operation to topple the late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, despite the fact that his alleged arsenal of chemical and biological weapons was never found.

But the British leader admits that the four years since the invasion have proved more dangerous than expected. "There's no doubt at all it's immensely challenging, but also there is a huge amount that is being done," Blair said at his final joint news conference with US President George W. Bush.

AFP