publicized transition to control of its own security amid secrecy, not fanfare, Sunday, a reminder of how tense the country is as foreign troops start to head home and violence spreads. Ministers flew to central Bamiyan province, one of the most peaceful places in Afghanistan, for a ceremony that was not announced in advance, did not run live on any TV channel and to which only a small number of media outlets were invited. The handover from New Zealand forces to Afghan police—there is no Afghan army presence in the province — is the very first step in a years-long national transition that aims to put Afghan police and army in control across the country by the end of 2014. The process is critical to Afghanistan's long-term security at a time when Western nations are wearying of the cost in lives and cash of the near decade-long war, both the Afghan government and its Western backers say. Yet the president's office, which is coordinating the transition, other key ministries and the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force, all remained silent about Sunday's handover more than six hours after it began. The Taliban have threatened to target transition events, and attacks have been a serious security concern for weeks. It was left to the Bamiyan provincial governor's spokesman, Abdulrahman Ahmadi, to confirm transition was under way. “The transition process officially began in Bamiyan today and this is a national process we have been waiting for,” he said by telephone, adding that the ceremony had begun at around 9 A.M. (0430 GMT) and continued into the afternoon. “Bamiyan hasn't been suffering from any security threats, so the process will go on very smoothly,” he said. Meanwhile, Afghan and NATO troops Sunday killed at least 13 Taliban fighters in eastern Afghanistan after an overnight gunbattle ended with an airstrike on the building where the insurgents were holed up, Afghan and coalition officials said. Capt. Justin Brockhoff, a spokesman for the coalition, said the fighting started during an overnight operation targeting a Taliban leader in the Kuz Kunar district of Nangarhar province. The joint force made up of Afghan and coalition troops came under fire and insurgents refused requests to come out of the building, he said. The fighting ended Sunday with a NATO airstrike, he said, adding that there were no casualties among civilians or security forces. The insurgents were armed with machine guns, assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades.
