Brown defends troops against Karzai remarks

London: Gordon Brown has rebuffed claims by Afghan President Hamid Karzai that British troops had destabilised a region of his country, allowing the Taliban to gain control.

Karzai sparked anger among MPs and the military by accusing Britain and the US of setting back progress in Helmand province by 18 months.

Despite Britain pouring thousands of troops into the area, he blamed them for allowing the Taliban to capture the key town of Musa Qala, from where they were driven out only last month.

But Downing Street hit back, with the Foreign Office stressing the "determination and bravery" of British soldiers fighting the Taliban to prop up Karzai's government.

Britain has lost 87 military personnel in Afghanistan since November 2001. The latest was Corporal Darryl Gardiner, 25, who was killed this week. Karzai claimed he was wrongly persuaded to remove the governor of Helmand, Sher Mohammad Akhunzada, by British and American forces who had then allegedly failed to provide sufficient security in the region.

"I made the mistake of listening to them. And when they came in, the Taliban came," he said. Asked about Karzai's comments, the Prime Minister's spokesman said: "We would not accept that... We are working alongside the Afghan government in order to drive out the Taliban from Helmand. We saw that very clearly in December in relation to Musa Qala."