Via CNS News:

The Obama administration welcomed Tuesday’s signing of a document governing the presence of U.S. troops in Afghanistan beyond Dec. 31, while the Taliban vowed to continue its jihad against American “infidels” and to deliver “shari’a judgment and punishment” on the Afghan leaders who signed it.

U.S. Ambassador to Kabul Jim Cunningham and Afghanistan’s national security advisor Hanif Atmar signed the bilateral security agreement (BSA) at the presidential palace in Kabul. Afghan and NATO officials signed a separate status of forces agreement covering international troop deployments once the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) mission concludes at year’s end.

Both agreements had been on hold since the end of last year because former President Hamid Karzai, who had an often-turbulent relationship with the U.S., refused to sign them.

In a scathing statement, the Taliban on Tuesday condemned Afghan leaders for what it called an act of treason against “their own religion, people, history and nation.”