Karzai Names Territories For NATO To Leave

BBC News reports:

Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai has named seven areas of the country which will pass from control by foreign troops into Afghan hands from July.

They are the relatively peaceful provinces of Kabul, Panjshir and Bamiyan and the cities of Herat, Mazar-e-Sharif, and Mehterlam.

But he also named Lashkar Gah, capital of the volatile Helmand province.

The handover is seen as a critical step in a transition of power before foreign troops end combat operations in 2014.

"The people of Afghanistan don't want that foreigners take responsibility for security any more," President Karzai said.

This is the first step in a long process of withdrawal, which will begin in July when the first tranche of foreign troops is set to leave Afghanistan.

After that, in these areas, the primary role of foreign troops will be the training and equipping of Afghan security forces, he said. Nato troops will cease to engage in battle.

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