British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is defending his country's missionin Afghanistan, after eight British soldiers were killed in a 24-hourperiod.
In a letter to British lawmakers, Mr. Brown said despiterecent casualties, British military commanders in Afghanistan aresucceeding in their objectives. He said the course being undertaken isthe right one.
Earlier on Saturday, British Foreign MinisterDavid Miliband said Britain will not be safe until it has establishedsecurity in Afghanistan. He said British troops in Afghanistan arefighting for the "future of Britain," adding that the border areabetween Afghanistan and Pakistan has been used to launch deadly attackson his country and the United States.
Eight British soldierswere killed Friday in separate incidents in Afghanistan. Thecasualties bring Britain's death toll in Afghanistan to 184, five morethan the number of British deaths in the Iraq war.
More than8,000 British troops are fighting in the southern Afghan province ofHelmand, alongside thousands of U.S. Marines in a major offensiveagainst Taliban militants.
Elsewhere in southern Afghanistan,the interior ministry said Saturday that Afghan police and U.S.-ledcoalition forces killed 19 suspected militants in two separate clashesin the Charchino district of Uruzgan province.
Separately, officials say four Afghan security guards were killed in an insurgent attack in Ghazni province on Saturday.