BAGHDAD — General Lloyd Austin, the officer who oversaw the US military withdrawal from Iraq, visited Baghdad for talks on defense cooperation and security issues including Syria, the US Embassy said Thursday.



Austin, who now 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,” the embassy said in a statement.



Forces loyal to President Bashar Al-Assad are battling rebels in neighboring Syria in a conflict that has spilled over into Iraq on several occasions and reportedly killed more than 94,000 people.



Austin met with officials including Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki, Acting Defense Minister Saadun Al-Dulaimi, national security adviser Falah Al-Fayadh and top Iraqi military officer Gen. Babaker Zebari.



Austin was the final commander of US 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 people. — AFP