Afghan security forces stand guard during the security transition ceremony in Kandahar Province, southern Afghanistan, on July 18, 2012.<\/p>\n
Afghan security forces have set to take over the security responsibility for the whole of the war-torn country within days, officials say.\n<\/p>\n
The handover of the last 95 districts from the US-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) to Afghan forces includes many of the most volatile areas of south and east Afghanistan.\n<\/p>\n
President Hamid Karzai will mark a key point of the “transition process” to full Afghan sovereignty in a formal ceremony within days, NATO and Afghan officials, who declined to be named, said.\n<\/p>\n
The officials did not reveal the exact date of the transition ceremony.\n<\/p>\n
A transition program began in March 2011 after relatively-peacefully areas home to about 20 percent of the population were put under Afghan security control.\n<\/p>\n
In July 2012, the security responsibilities of provincial capital Kandahar city, Dand, Daman and Arghandab districts were formally handed over from the US-led troops to Afghan troops.\n<\/p>\n
This comes as the United States plans to maintain its military bases in Afghanistan beyond the 2014 withdrawal deadline.\n<\/p>\n
On May 2, 2012, Obama and Karzai signed a deal that authorized the presence of US troops for a period of 10 years after 2014, which was the original date agreed earlier for the departure of all foreign combat troops from Afghanistan.\n<\/p>\n
Insecurity continues to rise across Afghanistan despite the presence of thousands of US-led forces in the war-torn country.\n<\/p>\n
Washington invaded Afghanistan in 2001 under the pretext of combating terrorism.\n<\/p>\n
The US-led war in Afghanistan, which has caused record-high civilian and military casualties, has become the longest military conflict in the American history.\n<\/p>\n
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