US military chief of staff Admiral Mike Mullen paid a surprise visit Sunday to a southern Philippine city where undetermined number of American troops were deployed, dpa reported.
Mullen, chairman of the US armed forces chiefs of staff, arrived on the southern port city of Zamboanga, 875 kilometres south of Manila a few days after a powerful bomb exploded in front of the office of the US Agency for International Development, killing three people.
Mullen was accompanied by US Ambassador to Philippines Kristie Kenney. It was the first time in recent years a top US military chief visited Zamboanga.
He was scheduled to visit the Philippine military headquarters in Manila late Sunday.