Afghanistan to sign crucial security deal

Afghanistan will sign a crucial security deal on Tuesday that will allow American troops to remain in the country after 2014, a senior adviser to US President Barack Obama announced Monday.

John Podesta, counselor to President Obama, confirmed at a press conference at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul on Monday that the security deal was to be signed.

"The BSA (bilateral security agreement) will be signed tomorrow, not by the president but by a senior minister," Daoud Sultanzoy, an adviser to Afghan President Ashraf Ghani told news agency Agence France Presse.

"The signing sends the message that President Ghani fulfils his commitments. He promised it would be signed the day after inauguration, and it will be," Sultanzoy said.

The security deal provides for around 10,000 troops to remain in Afghanistan after the official combat mission draws to a close on December 31. Podesta will sign on behalf of the United States.

The news comes shortly after Ghani (pictured) was officially sworn in as Afghanistan's new president, marking the first democratic power transfer since the US-led invasion in 2001 which ousted the Taliban. Ghani emerged as president only after a bitter, six-month election stalemate in which his rival, Abdullah Abdullah, also claimed victory. Abdullah was named the country's chief executive, a newly-created position agreed to in a power-sharing deal.

Meanwhile, violence continues to plague the country. Seven people were killed by a suicide bomber at a security checkpoint near Kabul as Ghani was being sworn in. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.

bw/se (AP, AFP, Reuters)