NATO troops on Thursday made Afghan security forces responsible for the city of Herat, the country’s western capital where two British men were reportedly arrested.
Herat is the fourth of seven areas to transition to Afghan control this week, but critics say the timetable is politically motivated and not reflective of Afghan abilities to ward off the Taliban with violence at a 10-year high.
Underscoring the threat, a suicide bomber killed four people on Wednesday in the north’s Mazar-i-Sharif, considered one of the safest cities in Afghanistan and due to be transferred on Saturday.
