(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-12-10 23:07

KABUL -- British Prime Minister Gordon Brown made a surprise visit to Afghanistan Monday in which he has met British troops in southern province of Helmand, reports said.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown meets with British soldiers at Camp Bastion in Afghanistan December 10, 2007.  [Agencies]

It has been the first time of Brown's visit to Afghanistan since he took office, which also came amid a successful NATO and Afghan operation to retake Musa Qala district where British troops operate.

Brown met with about 150 British troops at Camp Bastion in Helmand province, thanking them for their "patriotic service" on "one of the most important missions."

He then traveled to the capital, Kabul, to meet with Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

There are currently about 7,700 British troops in Afghanistan, mostly being deployed in the unrest Helmand province.