(dpa) - US Republican presidential hopeful John McCain, during a visit to London, said Thursday that the terror network al- Qaeda was "on the run" in Iraq but not defeated.
Speaking after talks with Prime Minister Gordon Brown, McCain praised Britain's "sacrifice" for the war in Iraq and said he understood the British public's "frustration" at the slow progress in restoring security.
McCain, a Vietnam veteran and supporter of the Iraq war, reaffirmed his belief that the US troop "surge" in Iraq had proved a success.
However, he warned that there was still more to be done in restoring security.
"Al-Qaeda is on the run. They are not defeated. We're going to have to continue training the Iraqi military and do what we have been doing if we are going to achieve a stable situation in Iraq," he said.
McCain, who stopped over in London on his return from a whistle- stop tour of the Middle East that took him to Israel, Jordan and Iraq, is due to visit Paris later.
He praised the British government's "strong commitment" to the conflict in Iraq, and said he had "admiration" for Brown.
"We appreciate enormously the long service and sacrifice of the British servicemen and women in the military, both in Iraq and Afghanistan," said McCain.
"I fully appreciate that British public opinion has been frustrated by sometimes our lack of progress in both areas."