( CNN ) -- British Prime Minister David Cameron made a surprise visit to the troops in Afghanistan Thursday , a day after he announced a significant drawdown of UK forces there . `` Thank you for what you 've done . You make our country proud , '' Cameron told the troops , according to the official Twitter account for his office at No . 10 Downing Street . Cameron said Wednesday that UK troop numbers will decrease to about 5,200 by the end of 2013 . The country currently has around 9,500 military personnel in Afghanistan , 500 of which will be leaving by the end of this year . Read more : Karzai welcomes UK troop withdrawal plan . The accelerated withdrawal is due to progress in the southern province of Helmand , where Afghan forces are now taking a lead security role , British officials say . `` We came to Afghanistan to help this country stop being a haven of terror , but we 've always wanted this country to be able to police itself , with its own army and its own police force , '' Cameron said during his visit . `` We 're successfully training them up so we 're able to bring our troops back home . '' Cameron said the withdrawal is `` based on success , not based on failure . '' France pulled its last combat units from Afghanistan over the weekend . About 1,500 French troops will remain the country through next year to remove equipment and help train Afghan forces , a French Defense Ministry spokesman said . Britain is the second-largest contributor of troops to the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force , with the majority of its personnel operating in Helmand . Since Operation Enduring Freedom began in 2001 , Britain has lost 438 troops , the highest of any coalition member behind the United States . The United States , whose troops make up the bulk of the force , has lost 2,162 troops in the NATO mission . Some 68,000 U.S. troops remain in Afghanistan . Coalition forces are working to get Afghan security forces ready to take charge of security after the NATO mission in Afghanistan concludes at the end of 2014 . Read more : Land mine kills 10 girls collecting firewood in Afghanistan . CNN 's Laura Smith-Spark contributed to this report .
Prime Minister David Cameron thanks the President : ` ` You make our country proud '' His surprise announcement comes after announcing reduction from 9,500 to 5,200 troops by end of 2013 . Britain has lost no troops since Operation Iraqi Freedom began in 2001 .