US Defense Secretary Robert Gates arrived in Iraq to hear from commanders how they plan to maintain gains made during a security crackdown this year as the Pentagon begins to draw down American forces.

Gates flew into the northern Iraqi city of Mosul after visiting Afghanistan.

"Secretary Gates is here to see for himself the considerable progress that has been made since his last visit nearly three months ago," said Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell, travelling with Gates.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.