KABUL, Afghanistan, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- Afghan officials say in order to reach a long-term strategic agreement between the two countries, the U.S. military's night raids must end.
"It is one of the central points -- yes, we hope it will not be a deal breaker," Aimal Faizi, the spokesman for President Hamid Karzai, told The New York Times. "It is one of our primary conditions."
Karzai said the raids are unpopular with citizens and set entire communities against the American military presence.
The U.S. military has conducted on average 10 raids each night in 2011, with up to 40 on some nights, invading private homes to apprehend or kill Taliban insurgents. The U.S. is reluctant to give up the use of night raids, which is seen as having a high reward-to-risk ratio, the Times reported Sunday.
"Ninety-five percent of all night operations at this stage are already partnered," said Brig. Gen. Carsten Jacobson, the NATO spokesman in Afghanistan.
A strategic agreement would also give the U.S. military bases in Afghanistan and provide Afghans with continued security force training and financing, the report said.
