The latest violence in Afghanistan comes days after President Obama announced plans to speed up the transfer of formal military control to the Afghan forces. Appearing with Afghan President Hamid Karzai at the White House Friday, Obama said a transition to Afghan military leadership of combat missions will take place in the spring instead of the summer.

President Obama: “Today we agreed that as Afghan forces take the lead and as President Karzai announces the final phase of the transition, coalition forces will move to a support role this spring. President Karzai and I also discussed the nature of our security cooperation after 2014. Our teams continue to work toward a security agreement, and as they do, they will be guided by our respect for Afghan sovereignty and by our two long-term tasks, which will be very specific and very narrow tasks: first, training and assisting Afghan forces, and second, targeting counterterrorism missions — targeted counterterrorism missions against al-Qaeda and its affiliates.”