British defense secretary on visit to Afghanistan

British Defense Secretary John Reid arrived Friday to Afghanistan and was due to meet with President Hamid Karzai and visit British troops, officials said.

Reid was greeted at Kabul's international airport by the British ambassador and the commander of British forces in Afghanistan.

He will meet with British officials and hold talks Saturday with Karzai and Afghan Defense Minister Rahim Wardak.

Britain is part of the U.S.-led coalition hunting Taliban and al-Qaida rebels in Afghanistan and a NATO-led peacekeeping mission providing security in the capital, north and west of the country.

Reid is also expected to visit British troops during his trip, officials said.

He arrived in Kabul two days after a suicide bomber killed nine Afghans and wounded 36 others outside an Afghan army training center in the capital, reports the AP.

P.T.