Afghanistan
In this Saturday, March 19, 2011 photo, an Afghan policeman controls the area during a patrol in Guzara district, Herat province east of Kabul, Afgha...
In this Saturday, March 19, 2011 photo, an Afghan policeman controls the area during a patrol in Guzara district, Herat province east of Kabul, Afghanistan. President Hamid Karzai is to announce a plan for the gradual handover of security duties from NATO to local forces, the Interior Ministry said. (AP Photo/Reza Shirmohammadi)
Afghanistan
In this Saturday, March 19, 2011 photo, an Afghan policeman aims his rifle gun during a patrol in Guzara district, Herat province east of Kabul, Afgh...
In this Saturday, March 19, 2011 photo, an Afghan policeman aims his rifle gun during a patrol in Guzara district, Herat province east of Kabul, Afghanistan. President Hamid Karzai is to announce a plan for the gradual handover of security duties from NATO to local forces, the Interior Ministry said. (AP Photo/Reza Shirmohammadi)
Afghanistan
In this Saturday, March 19, 2011 photo, an Afghan policeman walks during a patrol in Guzara district, Herat province east of Kabul, Afghanistan. Pres...
In this Saturday, March 19, 2011 photo, an Afghan policeman walks during a patrol in Guzara district, Herat province east of Kabul, Afghanistan. President Hamid Karzai is to announce a plan for the gradual handover of security duties from NATO to local forces, the Interior Ministry said. (AP Photo/Reza Shirmohammadi)
Afghan President Hamid Karzai says his security forces will soon take charge of security in seven areas around the nation _ the first step toward his goal of having Afghan police and soldiers protecting the entire nation by the end of 2014.
In a speech Tuesday in Kabul, Karzai said the provincial capitals of Lashkar Gah in southern Afghanistan, Herat in the west, Mazer-e-Sharif in the north and Mehterlam in the east are slated for transition from NATO-led forces to Afghan soldiers and police in July.
He says all of Bamiyan and Panshir provinces, which have seen little to no fighting, are on the transition list.
Also slated for transition is Kabul province, except for the restive Surobi district.
