British Prime Minister Tony Blair is flying to the United States for talks with President George W. Bush following weeks of violence in Iraq.
Mr Blair will meet UN Secretary General Kofi Annan in New York before going on to talks with Mr Bush in Washington.
The recent upsurge in violence will top the agenda for the talks. But Israel's plans to pull troops out of the Gaza Strip and dismantle all Israeli settlements there as well as some in the West Bank is also likely to feature.
Mr Blair and Mr Bush are facing pressure over the war in Iraq, with questions about their entire military strategy.
A year after Saddam Hussein was ousted from power, coalition troops are up against renewed uprisings across the country. A further eight US soldiers have been killed in the past 24 hours.
Military commanders desperately need to restore order across the country. But critics have argued that their use of overwhelming firepower is serving only to unite the people of Iraq against the occupying forces.
The British government has insisted there was no split between the two coalition partners and stressed Mr Blair backed the US strategy and approach.