Foreign combat troops are expected be out of Afghanistan within three years. But a decade into their mission, security remains precarious.

In Sar Howza in Paktika province, a new district governor has been appointed - the second in just four weeks - after the previous governor was killed in a Taliban attack.

Mohammed Hakim, a mullah or religious teacher thought to be linked with the attack, is now in custody. But many people in the district fear the Taliban will take revenge on them if he is not released.

With no permanent security presence in most villages, the government cannot get an influential foothold - a challenge that is experienced all along Afghanistan's border with Pakistan.

Al Jazeera's Bernard Smith reports from eastern Afghanistan.