The US defence secretary James Mattis has said his country is not in Iraq "to steal anybody's oil" on a surprise visit to Baghdad.

Mr Mattis, who is in the country to get a first-hand assessment of the continuing fight against so-called Islamic State, distanced himself from remarks made by President Donald Trump.

Image: US defence secretary General James Mattis arrives in Baghdad

"I think all of us here in this room, all of us in America have generally paid for our gas and oil all along and I'm sure that we will continue to do so in the future," Mr Mattis told reporters.

"We're not in Iraq to seize anybody's oil."

Video: Iraqi helicopters and ground forces fight for Mosul

In January, President Trump told CIA staff: "We should have kept the oil. But okay. Maybe you'll have another chance."


It is a familiar theme for Mr Trump, who, as long ago as 2011, told the Wall Street Journal that this was his policy for Iraq.

Video: Iraqi bombing raids on IS targets in western Mosul

"You heard me, I would take the oil," he said, claiming it amounted to reimbursement for the cost of the Iraq war, rather than theft.

It is not the first time the pair have disagreed, as Mr Trump has admitted he and Mr Mattis differ on the usefulness of torture as an interrogation tactic, but the president has said he will defer to his defence secretary.

Image: US defence secretary General James Mattis arrives

Mr Mattis is also far more sceptical of Russia than Mr Trump, has told reporters he does not see the media as the enemy, and wants an exemption from the president's travel ban for those who have fought alongside Americans.

Mr Mattis is in Iraq for the first time as a member of the administration to finalise plans to defeat IS, as the battle for the jihadist group's last stronghold, Mosul, intensifies.

The operation to free western Mosul from IS starts

On Sunday, thousands of US-backed Iraqi troops, supported by artillery and airstrikes, began a ground assault on western Mosul, where the militants are essentially under siege, along with about 650,000 civilians.

January: Sky News finds Islamic State chemical tipped weapons in Mosul

Their progress has reportedly been slowed down by huge improvised explosive devices planted by IS along the route of the offensive.

As Mr Mattis arrived in the country, the US-led coalition announced that a serviceman died on Monday in a non-combat related incident outside the Iraqi city of Ramadi, west of Baghdad.