WASHINGTON, Oct 20: Gen John Abizaid, the top US commander in the Middle East, has been called to Washington to brief President George Bush and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, a military spokesman said on Friday.

According to a White House statement, President Bush will consult top generals on Saturday about the situation in Iraq.

Mr Bush’s spokesman, Tony Snow, said the talks were ‘part of a regular consultation process’ and were not in response to a surge in violence.

The action comes amid a deteriorating security situation in Iraq with ethnic violence surging in the capital and outbreak of fighting between police and Shia militias in a southern city that was recently turned over to Iraqi security forces.

“He (Gen Abizaid) is going to meet with the political leadership in the next several days,” said Captain Gary Arasin, a spokesman at the Central Command in Florida.—AFP