General Lloyd Austin, who heads the US Central Command, "visited Baghdad May 14 to 16, 2013 to discuss US-Iraq defense cooperation and regional security issues, including the situation in Syria," said an statement issued by US embassy on thursday.

The US general met with officials including Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, acting defense minister Saadun al-Dulaimi, national security advisor Falah al-Fayadh and top Iraqi military officer General Babaker Zebari.

Austin was the final commander of United States Forces - Iraq, overseeing the withdrawal of US troops from the country, which brought to a close an almost nine-year war that killed tens of thousands of Iraqis, thousands of US soldiers and cost hundreds of billions of dollars.
 

The withdrawal was completed when the last convoy of US troops crossed into Kuwait in the chilly early morning of December 18, 2011.