US Defence Secretary in Iraq as another American soldier killed

Panetta, who took office 10 days ago, flew in after visiting Afghanistan and was also to urge Iraqi leaders to decide soon on whether they want US troops beyond the scheduled pullout at the end of this year, a senior US defence official said.

About 46,000 US troops remain in Iraq, down from a high of 170,000 after the 2003 US-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 US presence there, they have to make a formal request that we would obviously consider," Panetta told reporters shortly after his arrival.

He is due to meet President Jalal Talabani, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and the president of Iraqi Kurdistan, Massud Barzani.

"The issues for Iraq are security there and what's being done, particularly to deal with the Iranian supply of weapons to militants in Iraq," Panetta said.