Afghan forces assume security charges of key district from US forces

Afghan security forces took full security charges of Nerkh district in the country's eastern province of Wardak on Saturday from U.S. troops, the NATO-led coalition forces said."Today Coalition forces completed their transition from Nerkh District, Wardak Province to Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) ," the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said in a press release.Late last month, Afghan President Hamid Karzai ordered the U.S. Special Forces to leave Wardak following reports that they and Afghans working for them were involved in harassing and torturing civilians in the province bordering capital Kabul."As previously announced, Gen. Joseph F. Dunford, the ISAF commander, and President Karzai agreed on a plan on March 20 to transition Nerkh District as part of the larger effort to transition Wardak Province to Afghan security lead," the ISAF release added."As we pledged, our forces have transitioned Nerkh District to Afghan National Security Forces and they have now assumed full responsibility for security in this key district. The rest of Wardak will continue to transition over time as Afghan forces continue to grow in capability and capacity," Dunford said in the release. "This is another sign of the ANSF's forward momentum in assuming the lead for security across Afghanistan."Currently about 100,000 NATO-led forces, with nearly 66,000 of them Americans are deployed in the central Asian country.Under U.S. President Barack Obama's withdrawal plan, 33,000 U.S. troops already pulled out of Afghanistan in September last year and another 34,000 will return home within one year.