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Brown, on his way to Beijing for the Olympics closing ceremonies, told troops their presence was helping defend British and Afghan interests, The Daily Telegraph reported.

"You know that by what you are doing here you prevent terrorism coming to the streets of Britain", he was quoted as saying.

The prime minister also paid tribute to Cpl. Barry Dempsey, who died Monday in a road side bomb attack. He also visited a hospital to meet with five British soldiers injured in a fight with Taliban insurgents.

The Independent newspaper quoted Brown as saying, "Morale among the troops is very strong. They are gradually extending the area which we control. We are also making great progress in training the Afghan army."

Brown in his talks with Karzai said Afghanistan may need to double the number of its serving troops to 120,000, Sky News reported.

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