London  - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown told British soldiers on a surprise visit to the British troop base Helmand in Afghanistan Thursday they were in the "front line in the fight against the Taleban".

Rejecting fears that the battle against the al-Qaeda linked Taleban was losing ground, he said: "You know that by what you are doing here you prevent terrorism coming to the streets of Britain."

The premier also said Britain would do everything to protect its soldiers and paid tribute to Barry Dempsey, the latest British soldier who died Monday in the conflict in Afghanistan

In total, 116 British soldiers have died in Afghanistan since the conflict began in 2001.

After his visit to the base, Brown headed to Kabul where he was due to meet with Afghan President Hamid Karzai before travelling on to the Olympics in Beijing. (dpa)