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PM pays soldiers surprise visit

The prime minister traded his suit and tie for a flak jacket before touching down in Baghdad's Green Zone on Tuesday


PM Anders Fogh Rasmussen paid a surprise visit on Tuesday to the 535 Danish soldiers stationed at Camp Danevang in Iraq.
'The purpose of the trip is to visit the soldiers,' said Rasmussen. 'Partly to show that we support their efforts, partly to hear about the conditions they work under. Both the military conditions and the conditions for reconstruction.'

Rasmussen was joined by the defence minister, Søren Gade, on the trip. While most of their itinerary was held secret, the prime minister flew to Denmark's embassy in Baghdad under the protection of US helicopter gunships.

The visit marked the prime minister's first visit to Iraq since two Danish soldiers were killed by roadside bombs in Iraq in March and October. The visit also takes place shortly after parliament extended the Danish mission until June 2007.

The extension passed by a narrow majority secured by the Danish People's Party, while the opposition's Social Democrats and Social Liberals withdrew their support for the mission, calling for a Danish withdrawal and a focus on reconstruction.

The current contingent of troops at Camp Danevang arrived in February. It is the seventh rotation of Danish soldiers in the camp, which is located in the British Shaiba Log Base near Basra.

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