NATO forces may hand over violent provinces to Afghan control

NATO forces may soon transfer two of the most volatile areas in the country over to Afghan security forces as part of the second phase of a nationwide security handover as part of the drawdown of American forces, NATO and Afghan officials said.

The Arghandab Valley in Kandahar and the district of Nad e Ali in Helmand -- areas where violent clashes with the insurgency that have left many American and British soldiers dead in recent years -- are among the regions being discussed as part of the "tranche 2" handover that President Hamid Karzai is expected to announce in the coming weeks.

While these areas have seen a recent reduction in violence, their history as hotbeds of insurgent violence has raised concerns the districts may be more vulnerable to Taliban resurgence after a substantial NATO drawdown of troops.

Handing over these more volatile areas now, analysts say, could help ensure that the Afghan army and police can be reinforced with NATO forces if local forces encounter renewed insurgent attacks.

"It is good when we have a significant NATO presence in Afghanistan to start with the toughest parts in Afghanistan and that will provide the opportunity for the Afghan security forces to defend themselves and in the meantime have the support of NATO," said Haroun Mir, a political analyst in Kabul.

An Afghan official close to the presidency said that while the original list of 17 regions to be handed over did not contain these names, it was possible the president may decide to add them as part of a "political decision". The final decision on which areas to transition rests with the Afghan Presidential Palace, NATO officials say. Karzai is expected to make an announcement on the next regions to be handed over to Afghan control.

But to others, the plan is a high-risk strategy which could put Afghan forces into a tough fight for which they are not ready.

One local leader in Arghandab, its district chief, Haji Shah Mohammad, told CNN that while security in his area had improved significantly, it was due to the heavy presence of NATO forces in the area.

"I do not agree with the idea of transitioning Arghandab because our Afghan forces are not up to the point where they are able to handle security without international forces' support," Shah Mohammad told CNN, adding he had also heard his district could be transitioned to local control.

Shah Mohammad said he was concerned the Taliban in his region were waiting for an opportunity to strike again. "I think it is too early for Arghandab to be transitioned," he said, adding that Afghan security forces were inadequately equipped to handle the task.

An official in the governor's office in Helmand, the province where the Nad-e-Ali district is located, confirmed that it was one of two regions they had proposed to be handed over to Afghan security forces in the coming months. A spokesman for the Helmand governor, Daoud Ahmedi, said: "We proposed Nad-e-Ali because already Afghans are responsible for much of security."

Yet Ahmedi added that about a tenth of its area should still receive international help, even after the transition, as it remained volatile, he said.

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NATO: Kabul suicide bomb attack

Five troops and eight civilians were killed in central Kabul when a suicide bomber struck a vehicle in a military convoy, NATO's International Security Assistance Force said Saturday.

One Canadian was killed in the attack, said Lt. Colonel Christian Lemay.

A U.S. military official had said earlier that 13 Americans had died, but an ISAF spokesman could not confirm that number.

The U.S. official emphasized details are continuing to unfold. A heavily damaged vehicle was believed to be an armored bus that was carrying U.S. troops from one base to another. A senior NATO official identified it as a custom-built, heavily armored Rhino.

The attack caused a "number" of NATO and local Afghan casualties, ISAF said in a statement. Four Afghans, including two students, were also killed, said Hashmat Stanikzai, spokesman for Kabul's police chief.
A Taliban spokesman confirmed Saturday's attack in a text message, saying it killed "16 foreign soldiers, one civilian" and injured many others.

Taliban casualty counts are often inflated; there was no other reliable indication 16 foreigners were killed.

Stanikzai said the vehicle used in the attack appeared to be a red Toyota Corolla packed with a significant amount of explosives.

It was unclear how many people were wounded, said Sediq Sediqqi, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry.

The U.S. Embassy in Kabul expressed condolences to families and said it will continue the victims' "dedicated work on behalf of peace in this country and region."

"It's a shock. It makes you mad. It makes me angry," said U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker. "We are not going to let these guys win."

The attack was one of two targeting NATO-led forces on Saturday.

U.S. and coalition casualties in Afghanistan and Iraq

A gunman wearing an Afghan army uniform turned his weapon on coalition forces during training, killing three and wounding several others, ISAF said. The shooter was killed in the incident in southern Afghanistan.

The coalition did not provide any other details about the shooting, and did not disclose the nationalities of those killed.

In another suicide attack in northeastern Afghanistan, a woman in a burqa detonated herself near the nation's intelligence agency.

She tried to enter the National Directorate of Security and was shot at, but she still managed to detonate herself, said Sabour Alayar, deputy police chief of Kunar province.

Two officers and two civilians were wounded, he said, adding that the female suicide bomber was about 25 years old.

Alayar said they had intelligence of a suicide bomber looking for a target, and their security forces were on alert.

Gen. John R. Allen, commander of ISAF, condemned Saturday's attacks across the country.

"I am both saddened and outraged by the attacks that took place today against Coalition forces and the people of Afghanistan," Allen said in a statement. "The enemies of peace are not martyrs, but murderers. To hide the fact that they are losing territory, support, and the will to fight, our common enemy continues to employ suicide attackers to kill innocent Afghan fathers, mothers, sons and daughters, as well as the Coalition forces who have volunteered to protect them."

The U.S.-led war in Afghanistan marked its 10th year earlier this month having passed two major milestones: The Taliban has been forced out of power and Osama bin Laden is dead.

But Afghanistan has been hit by a wave of high-profile attacks in recent months that have jeopardized the peace negotiations.

September's turban bomb assassination of former Afghan President Burhanuddin Rabbani, revered by many as a father of the Mujahedeen movement that ousted the Soviets in the 1980s, appears to have dealt the biggest blow to the peace process.

Rabbani was the chairman of President Hamid Karzai's High Council for Peace, which has been trying for a year to foster dialogue with the Taliban -- a strategy that Karzai publicly abandoned following Rabbani's killing.

Nearly 2,800 troops from the United States and its partners have died during the 10 years of war, according to a CNN count.

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