London, Oct. 11 : Britain''s Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup, has said there is no "end point" to the ongoing international military mission in Afghanistan.

Sir Jock Stirrup''s comments come a week after Brigadier Mark Carleton-Smith, Britain''s top military commander in Afghanistan, said the public should not expect a "decisive military victory" in that country.

Stirrup told a British daily here that in both Iraq and Afghanistan, British troops were on a "journey that never finishes".

Britain has 7,800 troops fighting Taliban insurgents and 4,100 troops in Iraq.

“Afghanistan is a very backward country (militarily) it''s going to be some years before we finish that project," he said.

"We should avoid the use of words like ''win'' and ''lose'' in the context of Afghanistan. It''s not that sort of enterprise," Air Chief Marshal Stirrup said.

"These things are more complicated In both cases it''s a journey. If you''re talking about the development of a country, it''s a journey that never finishes. There''s no end point," he added. (ANI)