DAMASCUS, March 15 (Xinhuanet) -- Syrian President Bashar al-Assad held talks with his Egyptian counterpart Hosni Mubarak who paid a short visit to Damascus on Tuesday, the official SANA news agency reported.

    The two leaders held a meeting at the People's Palace and Assad gave a breakfast banquet in honor of Mubarak, said SANA, without revealing details of the talks.

    Muburak's surprise visit to Syria came a week after Syria began a two-stage pullout of all its 14,000 troops from Lebanon under growing international pressure since the assassination of former Lebanese Premier Rafik Hariri in Feb. 14.

    Mubarak and Assad on Monday discussed over phone the latest developments on the Syrian and Lebanese situation before an Arab summit in Algeria next week.

    Meanwhile, Syrian intelligence agents began leaving their Beirutoffice on Tuesday, said witnesses.

    Lebanese security sources said around 4,000 Syrian troops had already pulled back to Syria, with the rest of troops redeployed in east Lebanon's Bekaa Valley by the end of March pending final pullout. Enditem