KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghan President Hamid Karzai reshuffled top leadership in one quarter of the country’s 38 provinces on Thursday, firing American-backed governor and other local leaders as part of an effort to improve governance and clamp down on corruption among provincial officials.

Rafi Ferdous, a spokesman for the Council of Ministers, said 10 governors were removed from their posts or were given new jobs. Among those fired is governor Gulab Mangal, who had ran the volatile southern province of Helmand during the height of the Taliban insurgency. Mangal was respected by both British and American officials. He was replaced by Gen. Sultan Mohammad Ebadi, who previously worked for Afghanistan’s intelligence service.