US President George W Bush has made a surprise visit to Baghdad to mark America's Thanksgiving holiday. President Bush secretly traveled to Baghdad and paid a surprise to U.S. troops on Thursday in a mission to boost the morale of forces in Iraq amid mounting casualties. In a highly unusual maneuver, Bush left his Texas ranch on Wednesday night, arrived in Iraq on Thursday and spent 2-1/2 hours with the troops before leaving aboard his presidential aircraft Air Force One. The visit is the first to Iraq by a United States President. It comes on the heels of a brief visit by UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, who also did not announce his trip. The US deputy defence secretary, Paul Wolfowitz visited Baghdad a month ago. A rocket was fired at the hotel where he was staying, killing one US officer.