Britain's Prince Charles has made a surprise morale-boosting visit to British troops stationed in southern Iraq, the Foreign Office confirmed on Sunday.  

Charles, who flew to the southern Iraqi city of Basra amid tight security, became the first member of the Royal family to visit Iraq since the US-led war against the country broke out on March 20 last year, local reports said.

During his nearly six-hour trip to Basra, Charles thanked British troops for their work in Iraq when he met more than 200 soldiers from the 2nd Battalion of the Parachute Regiment, reports said.

Charles, whose visit was kept secret until he left Iraq, also met the top US official in Iraq, US administrator Paul Bremer and British Prime Minister Tony Blair's special envoy to Iraq, Jeremy Greenstock.

Local reports quoted a spokesman for Charles as saying: "We don't normally take the prince to places as dangerous as this ... The troops need cheering up."

Britain sent about 45,000 troops to the Gulf to join the Iraq war. There are still about 8,000 British troops stationed in Iraq, mainly in the Basra region.

Blair, the staunchest US ally on Iraq, has twice visited British troops in Iraq. His last trip was in early January.

(Xinhua News Agency February 9, 2004)