LONDON: Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth arrived in Afghanistan early Tuesday on a surprise visit, the Ministry of Defence announced in London, as the British death toll this year in Afghanistan rose to 100.

Ainsworth arrived in the troubled southern Helmand province, where he was due to meet British troops and Afghan officials, the ministry said. The visit is due to last several days.

His arrival coincides with a visit by US Defence Secretary Robert Gates who flew into Kabul on Tuesday for talks with President Hamid Karzai and commanders about Washington's new strategy to send 30,000 extra troops to fight the Taliban. Related article: Gates visits Afghanistan

It is the first official US visit since President Barack Obama last week announced he would boost the the US deployment in Afghanistan to 100,000 to counter an increasingly virulent Taliban insurgency.

The British toll in Afghanistan rose to 100 with the death of a British soldier announced on Monday night in Helmand, where the majority of British forces are deployed. His death brought to 237 the total number of British troops killed in Afghanistan since operations began in October 2001.