LONDON ? British Prime Minister Gordon Brown made a surprise visit to Afghanistan on Saturday, where he pledged to speed up the training of Afghan security forces, the BBC and Sky News reported.

"I think we could get another 50,000 Afghan army personnel trained over the next year," Brown told the BBC from Helmand province, where the majority of Britain's approximately 9,000 troops in Afghanistan are based.

"Stepping that up means that the Afghans take more responsibility for their own affairs. They're backed up by partnering and mentoring done by the British forces."