Senior military officials saw Campbell off at Dhaka airport, the defence ministry said in a statement.

During his stay he held talks with Bangladesh's army chief Lieutenant General Hasan Mashud Chowdhury.

Officials said the visit was routine and a defence spokesman denied it had any links with a US call to send Bangladeshi troops to Iraq.

US Secretary of State Colin Powell on a visit to Dhaka Thursday said he had discussed a potential deployment of Bangladeshi troops.

However, Bangladesh, which opposed the Iraq war, has said it would only send troops under the umbrella of the United Nations.

Fellow South Asian countries India and Pakistan have also mulled deploying forces to Iraq.

WAR.WIRE