Baghdad: The British Foreign Minister has arrived unannounced in Baghdad on Tuesday to hold talks on Iraq's security and political issues.
Margaret Beckett plans to meet with Prime Minister Nouri Maliki and other politicians to discuss “security and the political process'', as well as “other challenges'' facing the Iraqi government.
"The economy suffered decades of under-investment and mismanagement by Saddam's brutal regime which have left the Iraqis with a huge challenge," she said.
It is Beckett's first visit to Iraq since she took office.
Meanwhile, police have found 33 tortured and blind folded bodies strewn across the capital following Sunday's announcement that top Al Qaida leader Hamed Jumaa Farid Al Saeedi had been captured.
Iraq is hoping to take control of the country's security by next week once the United States and Iraq sign an agreement after ironing out a few discrepancies which previously held up the accord.
Government spokesman Ali Al Dabbagh said, "Both sides have agreed on the main issues. I think the document is ready to be signed, probably by the end of this week or early next week."
He referred to the remaining disagreements as "technicalities".
