Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen made a surprise visit to Iraq on Thursday to meet with political leaders there, his office said. Fogh Rasmussen was scheduled to meet with several political groups in the country, including Ibrahim al-Jaafari, head of the Shiite Islamic Daawa Party, and the man likely to be Iraq's next prime minister. His office told the AP that Fogh Rasmussen and al-Jaafari met in the Iraqi capital, but didn't immediately disclose what they talked about. It wasn't immediately clear if he would travel to Basra, in southern Iraq, where Denmark has 501 troops stationed as part of the U.S.-led coalition. His office, citing security concerns, did not comment. His visit came a day after Iraqi legislators were sworn in as members of the 275-seat National Assembly. Denmark has been a staunch supporter of the U.S.-led efforts in Iraq, and Danish lawmakers will in June decide whether to extend the country's mission in the country for another six months. Though popular sentiment in the Scandinavian country of 5.4 million is mixed about Denmark's presence in Iraq, lawmakers in the Folketing, or parliament, have been generally supportive of the mission. One Danish soldier has been killed during the deployment, but the incident was ruled a friendly fire incident. Fogh Rasmussen is on a tour of the Middle East and was scheduled to go to Cairo, Egypt later Thursday.
