U.S. special operations forces handed over their base in a strategic region of eastern Afghanistan to local Afghan commandos on Saturday, a senior U.S. commander said. The withdrawal from Nirkh district meets a demand by Afghan President Hamid Karzai that U.S. forces leave the area. "We're coming out of Nirkh," said Maj. Gen. Tony Thomas, the top U.S. special operations commander in Afghanistan, in an interview with The Associated Press. Attaullah Khogyani, spokesman for the governor of Wardak province outside Kabul in which Nirkh is located, confirmed that U.S. special operations forces withdrew and were replaced by a joint Afghan security forces team.
