US President George W. Bush made his second visit to Baghdad since the 2003 invasion yesterday, days after US forces killed al-Qaeda's chief in Iraq Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
"Good to see you," Iraq's new Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki told Bush as they shook hands in one of Saddam Hussein's old palaces.
"Thanks for having me," Bush replied.
The White House said Bush would be on the ground for more than five hours and would also meet US troops during the surprise trip, begun in high secrecy.
Maliki was told about the trip only five minutes before meeting Bush and many of Bush's own aides were kept in the dark.
Only US Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, in addition to first lady Laura Bush, were aware Bush had left Camp David abruptly on Monday night.
Others had expected to see him at Camp David yesterday where a videoconference with Iraqi officials was due to be held.
Aides said Bush wanted to hear directly from the Iraqis on what they need to bring stability and restore social services.
Bush's visit came amid ongoing violence, with at least 32 people killed yesterday, including 18 in five car bomb attacks in the oil city of Kirkuk, after warnings by al-Qaeda of vengeance for al-Zarqawi's death.
Security measures in Baghdad were beefed up in anticipation of Bush's visit and for Maliki's long awaited security plan for Baghdad.
According to the defense ministry, the night curfew in the capital will begin two and a half hours earlier, at 8:30pm, and cars will be banned from the streets on Friday afternoons during prayer time.
There will also be huge deployments of US and Iraqi troops to troubled neighborhoods in the capital, said General Abdel Aziz Mohammed, without specifying when the measures would take effect.
The five car bombs, several of them suicide bombs, in Kirkuk hit an ethnically diverse city that has not been known for large car bombs.
Another suicide car bomb attempt in Kirkuk on the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan Party headquarters was foiled when guards shot dead the driver of a booby-trapped car as he drove toward them.
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