Taliban claim killing of key Karzai aide

The Taliban on Monday claimed responsibility for the killing of a senior aide to Afghan President Hamid Karzai, overshadowing the start of the handover of security control from NATO to the country’s armed forces.

Jan Mohammad Khan, a former governor in the southern Uruzgan province, was killed in a gun attack on his home on Sunday.

Khan’s murder comes days after the assassination of President Hamid Karzai’s half-brother — a killing which was also claimed by the Taliban.

On Sunday, NATO forces began the gradual process of handing over security duties to Afghan forces, starting with the central province of Bamiyan.

Most allied troops are due to leave by 2014. Canada has already started pulling out some of its 3,000 soldiers stationed in Afghanistan after their combat mission ended last month.

US commander General David Petraeus has already handed over power to John Allen before he takes up his new post as director of the CIA.

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