U.S. Defense Secretary Panetta in Surprise Iraq Trip

New U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta arrived on Sunday on an unannounced visit to Iraq, where Washington is currently negotiating to maintain a military presence beyond 2011, Agence France Presse reported.

Panetta, who flew in from a visit to Afghanistan, was to inform Iraqi leaders they must decide soon whether they want American troops to stay in Iraq beyond the scheduled pullout at the end of the year, a senior official in his delegation said.

About 46,000 U.S. troops remain in Iraq, down from a high of 170,000 after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. They are scheduled to leave in less than six months unless a deal is reached between Baghdad and Washington.

"If they are to make a proposal with regards to the continuing U.S. presence there, they have to make a formal request that we would obviously consider," Panetta told reporters.

"I think the secretary will convey to the Iraqis ... that there's some urgency for them to make that request if they're going to make it," said a senior defense official traveling with him.

"We start to run against the clock, so he'll make that point," he said.

Asked about the increase in attacks against U.S. forces by Shiite militants backed by Iran, Panetta expressed "tremendous concern," and called on Iraqi authorities to do more to "go after those extremists that are making use of these weapons" supplied by Tehran.

"If we're all gonna be partners, they have a responsibility to protect against that kind of attack. It's in the interest of Iraq to provide for their own security," he said.

Panetta arrived in Iraq as U.S. forces suffered their deadliest month in three years in June, with 14 soldiers killed in attacks. Two more were killed on Thursday.

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said on Saturday that political parties would announce their decision in two weeks on whether they want some U.S. forces to remain.

During his visit, the defense secretary, who took office 10 days ago to replace Robert Gates, will meet Talabani, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and the president of Iraqi Kurdistan, Massoud Barzani.

Panetta is the latest senior U.S. official to arrive in Baghdad over the past several months to convince Iraqi leaders on the importance of a contingent of Americans soldiers remaining in Iraq.

A possible extension is deeply unpopular among the public in Iraq, where many see the American soldiers as "occupiers."