国际英语新闻：British PM visits troops in S. Afghanistan

KABUL, March 6 (Xinhua) -- British Prime Minister Gordon Brown paid an unannounced visit to restive Helmand province in south Afghanistan on Saturday, a local Afghan official said.

"Prime Minister Brown arrived in Helmand province this morning and visited his troops as well as a police training center there," the official told Xinhua but declined to be identified.

The visit took place amid an ongoing major offensive against the Taliban bastion in Marja and Nad Ali districts where 15,000 Afghan and NATO-led troops have been fighting insurgents since February 13 to restore government control there.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown pays an unannounced visit to restive Helmand province in south Afghanistan on Saturday.

Prime Minister Brown, according to the official, also visited Nad Ali and lauded the role of troops in establishing stability there.

He also announced his war on militants, saying the terrorists should be uprooted in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

More than 9,000 British forces, with the majority of them deployed in Helmand province, have been stationed in Afghanistan within the framework of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) to stabilize peace in the post-Taliban country.

Foreign dignitaries often pay surprise visits to Afghanistan due to security reasons.