Straw in Basra

British foreign office secretary Jack Straw arrived in Basra, southern Iraq, on Friday in a unannounced visit, during which he holds talks with officials there concerning the efforts to form a new Iraqi national coalition government for the four next years.

A spokesman for the British foreign department said that Straw, who came from Lebanon, will hold political and security talks with the governors and with members in the governorate council and representatives for political parties, but he did not explain whether he will be holding additional talks in Baghdad.

Straw's visit comes with the increasing pace of attacks and explosions. On Thursday, Iraq witnessed one of the most violent days since the American invasion in the number of explosions that resulted in killing more than 125 persons, the strongest of which were the explosions in Karbala and Ramadi.