The head of the US armed forces is expected to hold talks with his Indian counterpart Admiral Madhvendera Singh, army chief General N.C. Vij, and Brajesh Mishra, the national security adviser to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, a defence ministry official said Saturday.

"It is likely to be a two-day visit," the official told AFP.

It will be the first high-ranking US visit to India since New Delhi on July 14 turned down a US request to send troops for a "stabilization force" in Iraq.

India, however, has said it could reconsider if such a troop deployment were specifically authorized by the United Nations.

WAR.WIRE