Afghan President Moves to Stop NATO Night Raids

KABUL, Afghanistan -- The Afghan president has ordered his defense minister to tell NATO that Afghan forces -- and not the international troops -- should be the one to carry out special operations and nighttime raids.

Hamid Karzai's announcement on Saturday also says NATO should not proceed with any raids that have not been coordinated with Afghan forces.

The move is meant to assuage rising popular anger over coalition searches and nighttime raids of homes. NATO forces have faced violent protests over night raids on villages where they are trying to flush out insurgents.

It's unclear what immediate impact Karzai's statement will have.

NATO says the coalition understands it "must move from Afghan participation in night operations to Afghan forces having responsibility for night operations."