US President George W Bush, who is making a surprise visit to Baghdad, has promised to stand by Iraq's new government.
Mr Bush met the new Prime Minister, Nuri al-Maliki, in the US embassy in the fortified Green Zone.
The unannounced visit follows the killing last week of the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, and the appointment of ministers in the Iraqi government for defence, security and the interior.
Mr Bush had been chairing talks in the United States on future policy in Iraq.
He had been scheduled to hold a video-conference with the Iraqi prime minister, during a second day of high level talks with senior advisers on his administration's future policy in Iraq at Camp David.
Mr Bush has so far resisted setting any timetable for bringing home the 130,000 US troops stationed in the country, insisting they must stay to provide security.
However he said Mr Maliki and his government would make an assessment of their security needs, based on conditions on the ground.
At the end of the first day of the conference, Mr Bush called on countries who had pledged aid to help rebuild Iraq to make good their promises.
16 killed in Kirkuk attacks
At least 16 people were killed and 40 others injured in five car bomb attacks in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk.
A sixth suicide car bomb attempt in the city was foiled when police shot dead the driver of a car as he drove towards them.
The first car bomb exploded in the Tisaeen market in a largely Shia area, killing 13 people, including two policemen, and injuring 18.
About 30 minutes later, a suicide car bomber attempted to ram the main police headquarters, prompting police to open fire on it. The car exploded, leaving two police officers dead and eight others injured.
Shortly afterwards, another blast targeted the police chief for the southern Kirkuk Hurriyah neighbourhood, wounding him and six others, and killing one of his bodyguards.
Another car bomb, targeting a police patrol, exploded in the eastern part of the city and wounded four people. In central Kirkuk a car bomb wounded three further policemen.
The bombing campaign comes after the arrest of eight suspected insurgents by US and Iraqi forces and bombings yesterday in Baquba, Tal Afar and Baghdad.
