NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen arrived in Kabul on an unannounced visit on Thursday, officials said, according to dpa. "Rasmussen met with the NATO-led international forces commander John Allen. He is also scheduled to meet with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and address a joint press conference," a NATO official in Kabul said. A statement from the NATO office in Kabul said Rasmussen visited the Afghan commando training facility in Camp Morehead on the outskirts of Kabul where he observed a raid training exercise by Afghan special forces. "These special forces are among Afghanistan's best and bravest," Rasmussen was quoted as saying. "This shows that every day Afghan security forces are growing in strength and skills." "They will play a great part in ensuring the country's stability after our mission is completed at the end of 2014," he said. Last week, Afghan special forces took over the lead in night raid operations from their US counterparts after an agreement was signed between the United States and the Afghan government. There are currently 11,000 active Afghan commandos. The special forces conducted almost 4,000 raids against insurgents with the help of International Security Assistance Force personnel in 2011, according to NATO.
