350,000 Afghan troops to take place on frontline against rising Taliban

Afghanistan assumed full responsibility for security from departing foreign combat troops yesterday, a day after Afghan army mortar shells killed at least 20 civilians in Helmand province.

The move will test the readiness of 350,000 Afghan forces who will bear responsibility for fighting increasingly organised Taliban rebels.

The US-led coalition formally ended its mission more than 13 years after the Islamist Taliban government was toppled in late 2001 for sheltering the planners of the September 11, 2001, attacks on American cities.