Come July, foreign forces will begin withdrawing from Afghanistan, coinciding with President Hamid Karzai’s plan to begin returning seven regions of his country back to local control. –KA

BBC:

They are the relatively peaceful provinces of Kabul, Panjshir and Bamiyan, the cities of Herat and Mazar-e Sharif and the town of Mehterlam.

But he also named Lashkar Gah, capital of the volatile Helmand province.

The handover is seen as a critical step in a transition of power before foreign troops end combat operations in 2014.

“The people of Afghanistan don’t want that foreigners take responsibility for security any more,” President Karzai said.

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