Prime Minister Gordon Brown has hailed the success of a fiercely-fought offensive against the Taliban as another two British soldiers died in Afghanistan.
Eleven UK servicemen were killed driving insurgents out of a former stronghold in Helmand Province during Operation Panther's Claw.
"The efforts of our troops in Helmand have been nothing short of heroic," he said.
"There has been a tragic human cost. But this has not been in vain."
During a constituency visit in Fife, Mr Brown said: "Now that Operation Panther's Claw has shown that it can bring success and the first phase of that operation is over, it's time to commemorate all those soldiers who have given their lives and to thank all our British forces for the determination and professionalism and courage that they've shown.
"What we have actually done is make land secure for about 100,000 people. What we've done is push back the Taliban - and what we've done also is to start to break that chain of terror that links the mountains of Afghanistan and Pakistan to the streets of Britain.
"And I'm very proud of what our forces have achieved over the last few weeks - indeed for all the time they've been in Afghanistan."
Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary David Miliband stepped up pressure on the Afghan government to undermine the insurgency targeting British troops by holding talks with elements of the Taliban.
Mr Miliband said the insurgency was "divided", with many of those fighting against international forces doing so for "pragmatic" rather than ideological reasons.
Speaking at Nato's headquarters in Brussels, he said the Afghan authorities should offer incentives to persuade insurgents to switch sides. He also called for the UK's Nato allies to take up a greater share of the military burden in Afghanistan.
