United Kingdom Prime Minister Gordon Brown has made an unannounced visit to British troops in Afghanistan. Visiting the headquarters of NATO troops in the southern province of Kandahar, he said he wanted to give his country's soldiers some encouragement in the days before Christmas.

Mr Brown also met Afghan President Hamid Karzai while in the country. He said the coming months are crucial in the fight against terrorism and urged the Afghan government to increase its efforts to stop the Taliban.

Rather than flying in and out of the country in one day, Mr Brown spent Saturday night at the military base. It was, said officials, the first time a British prime minister had spent a night in a theatre of war in living memory.

Photo of Gordon Brown from Wikimedia Commons