Pact: Afghan troops to lead military ops

KABUL, Afghanistan -- All special military operations in Afghanistan, including night raids, will be led by Afghan security forces under a deal signed yesterday with the United States, resolving a major source of friction between President Hamid Karzai and Washington.

The agreement removes a key obstacle to a long-term strategic partnership, including a U.S. military presence after 2014, when all foreign combat troops are to leave the country. And it makes possible hitting the deadline of a NATO summit in May in Chicago.

Karzai has called for an end to the night raids, describing them as a violation of Afghan sovereignty. But U.S. military officials hailed the effectiveness of night operations, during which many suspected insurgents have been arrested. About 3,000 night operations in the past 14 months resulted in the apprehension of suspects 81 percent of the time, U.S. officials said last week.

A newly formed national force, the Afghan Special Operations Unit, will have the authority to search houses and private compounds and arrest suspected insurgents, Afghanistan's Defense Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak said. U.S. forces will provide support "only as required or requested," according to the agreement, which was signed by Wardak and Gen. John Allen, commander of the U.S. forces in Afghanistan.

Allen called it "the second major milestone in Afghan sovereignty." The transfer of responsibility last month for the Bagram prison, north of Kabul, and the "Afghanization" of special operations were two issues the Afghan government wanted settled.

"After today, only Afghan forces can search residential houses and private compounds within the framework of special operations," Wardak said.