US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld arrived in Baghdad on Monday on an unannounced visit to war-torn Iraq.  

It was Rumsfeld's fourth visit to the region since US-led coalition forces launched a war to oust the former regime of Saddam Hussein last year.

Rumsfeld, flying in after a visit to neighboring Kuwait, was greeted by US administrator Paul Bremer at Baghdad airport.

During his stay in Kuwait, the US defense secretary accused the al-Qaida terrorist network of being behind the deadly attacks in Iraq and warned that it was seeking to spark civil war among Iraq's religious and ethnic groups.

"They clearly are involved and active," Rumsfeld said on Sunday while commenting on whether al-Qaida members were involved in Iraq.

On Sunday night, Rumsfeld held talks with Kuwaiti Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah and Defense Minister Sheikh Jaber Mubarak al-Sabah.

(Xinhua News Agency February 23, 2004)