Britain has handed over the leadership of the International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) in Afghanistan to Turkey.

The commander of the Turkish contingent of Isaf took over from his British counterpart at a ceremony in the Afghan capital, Kabul.

When we arrived here there was a great deal of lawlessness. Now we have a situation where the city has come to life

Major-General John McColl

Britain has led Isaf for the past six months, helping the interim government to maintain security in Kabul.

The city's residents have praised Isaf's work in ending the lawless atmosphere which prevailed after the collapse of the Taleban.

The colourful handover ceremony - attended by newly-elected Afghan President Hamid Karzai - took place in the grounds of the old military sports club where Isaf has its headquarters.

The British flag was lowered, the Turkish flag raised, and Major General John McColl transferred command to Turkey's Major General Akin Zorlu.

Order restored

General McColl told the BBC the Isaf force had achieved "a dramatic change in the nature of Kabul".

"When we arrived here... there was a great deal of lawlessness, a large number of armed people on the streets. Now we have a situation where the city has come to life," he said.

"I don't claim that everything here is perfect, either in a security sense or in a political sense, but I do claim that it is moving in the right direction and it has moved remarkably quickly in a very short space of time."

He was confident that Turkish forces would be able to maintain and improve security.

General Zorlu said that the Afghan people had "long deserved" peace and security.

Turkey is the only state contributing Muslim troops to the peace force

Mr Karzai said that Afghanistan and Turkey had a long history of friendship and that "the Afghan people feel secure" with the Turkish troops.

He praised the British commander, joking that General McColl was so popular he could have been president of the country.

Analysts say the US is keen to promote Turkey - which is predominantly Muslim - as a secular, democratic model for Afghanistan.

Washington also wants to show that it has Muslim allies in its war on terror.

International effort

Isaf has about 5,000 troops from 19, mostly European, countries.

Most of the British contingent of about 1,300 soldiers from the Royal Anglian Regiment will leave Afghanistan to be replaced by a similar number of Turkish troops.

Germany has the second largest contingent with about 1,200 troops.

About 400 British soldiers will remain to assist with technical operations.

On Wednesday, as Afghanistan's grand national council - the loya jirga - came to an end, General McColl was presented with a medal by Mr Karzai.

The general received a round of applause from delegates, a mark of how much Afghans have appreciated Isaf's work.

Apart from its Isaf contingent, Britain also has a force of 1,700 Royal Marines in Afghanistan as part of the coalition forces hunting for Taleban or al-Qaeda fighters.

The Ministry of Defence in London has said this force will be withdrawn in August, having completed its three-month deployment.