This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/world-south-asia-14181299
The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Version 0 | Version 1 |
---|---|
David Petraeus hands over Afghanistan command | David Petraeus hands over Afghanistan command |
(40 minutes later) | |
Gen David Petraeus, US commander of Nato troops in Afghanistan, is handing responsibility for the military campaign there to his successor, Lt Gen John Allen. | |
Gen Petraeus, who is returning to the US to run the CIA, oversaw last year's surge of US troops to Afghanistan. | |
The handover comes hours after a close aide to Afghan President Hamid Karzai was killed in an attack in Kabul. | |
Earlier on Sunday, Nato handed control of Bamiyan province to local forces. | |
It is the first of seven areas to be passed to Afghan security forces under a plan announced by President Karzai in March. | |
The handover from Nato to Afghan forces is seen as a critical step in a transition of power before foreign troops end combat operations in 2014. | |
Gen Petraeus, who has served with the US Army for 37 years, is credited with turning around the war in Iraq after former President George W Bush tasked him with managing a surge of troops there in 2007. | |
He took charge in Afghanistan last year and managed the deployment of more than 30,000 US troops to fight the Taliban. US troops are set to begin the first phase of their withdrawal in the coming months. | |
Shoot-out in Kabul | |
But the killing of a key presidential aide to President Karzai in the Afghan capital highlights the challenges that lie ahead, says the BBC's Sanjoy Majumder in Kabul. Less than a week earlier, Mr Karzai's half-brother, Ahmed Wali Karzai, was assassinated in Kandahar. | |
The aide, Jan Mohammad Khan, was killed in an attack on his home in Kabul. | The aide, Jan Mohammad Khan, was killed in an attack on his home in Kabul. |
Lawmaker Hasham Watanwal also died in the attack, said police, as gunmen stormed the house in the western Karti Char district of the city. A shoot-out with security forces in the area continued for some time afterwards, police said. | |
Defence Ministry official Gen Zahir Wardak said the attackers had been wearing suicide vests, the Associated Press reports. | Defence Ministry official Gen Zahir Wardak said the attackers had been wearing suicide vests, the Associated Press reports. |
Though a close ally of the president, Mr Khan - a former governor of Uruzgan province - was also a controversial figure. | |
Correspondents say that despite rising casualty numbers, security has improved in a number of areas of the country following a surge of extra American troops and tens of thousands of new Afghan police and soldiers. | Correspondents say that despite rising casualty numbers, security has improved in a number of areas of the country following a surge of extra American troops and tens of thousands of new Afghan police and soldiers. |
However the quality of Afghan police and soldiers is patchy and correspondents warn of fears that they will be unable to withstand a renewed summer offensive from the Taliban. | However the quality of Afghan police and soldiers is patchy and correspondents warn of fears that they will be unable to withstand a renewed summer offensive from the Taliban. |