NATO Transfers Control of Panjshir Province to Afghans

Posted July 24th, 2011 at 4:40 pm (UTC-5)
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NATO troops have handed control of northeastern Panjshir province to Afghan forces, the sixth region of the country to be officially transferred to local control.

The handover Sunday was part of the first phase of a plan that will place the country's security under Afghan control before international combat troops by the end of 2014.

In the past week, NATO also transferred security control to Afghan forces in the central Bamiyan province, the capital of eastern Laghman province – Mehterlam, the capital of southern Helmand province – Lashkar Gah, and the capital of western Herat province – Herat city. Afghan forces have had control of Kabul city for the past three years.

Panjshir province lies about 130 kilometers north of Kabul. It has been a fiercely anti-Taliban stronghold where NATO forces have had little presence.

In other news, reports from Afghanistan say insurgents in southern Helmand province have kidnapped and then hanged an 8-year-old boy after his father, a police officer, refused to comply with their demands to provide them with a police vehicle.

A presidential statement issued Sunday said President Hamid Karzai strongly condemned the murder, which he said is not permitted in any culture or religion.

The boy was kidnapped Friday and it was not clear when he was killed.