NATO-led troops on Tuesday handed over security control of part of a northern province of Afghanistan to local security forces, dpa quoted officials as saying. A ceremony in Faizabad, capital of Badakhshan province, on the Tajik border, marked the handover of security control of the city and seven of the largely peaceful province's 28 districts from the NATO-led German troops to Afghan security forces. The security transition began in July last year when control of seven relatively peaceful areas were handed over to local forces, despite speculation over the abilities of Afghan forces. In November, President Hamid Karzai announced a second handover phase for six entire provinces, seven provincial cities and 43 districts from nine provinces, covering half the Afghan population. The 130,000 NATO-led international forces in Afghanistan have started a gradual withdrawal which is to be completed in 2014.
