WASHINGTON, June 16: The US Senate on Thursday confirmed Zalmay Khalilzad as US ambassador to Iraq, putting the foreign policy veteran in charge of the huge US diplomatic operation in Baghdad.

Khalilzad, an Afghan-American, has been US ambassador to Afghanistan, where he oversaw elections and reconstruction. In Baghdad, he will replace John Negroponte, who became the national director of intelligence.

At his confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Khalilzad presented a seven-point plan to work with Iraqis to help the defeat the insurgency and rebuild the country.

Senators praised his work in Afghanistan and his candour on the daunting challenges he faces in Iraq, where more than 1,700 US soldiers and thousands of Iraqis have died since the United States-led invasion to oust Saddam Hussein in March 2003.

Khalilzad, who was approved by a voice vote, also has been an aide to Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and a consultant for US oil company Unocal Corp.—Reuters