War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)

The War in Afghanistan was an armed conflict from 2001 to 2021. It began when an international military coalition led by the United States launched an invasion of Afghanistan, toppling the Taliban-ruled Islamic Emirate and establishing the internationally recognized Islamic Republic three years later. The conflict officially ended with the 2021 Taliban offensive, which overthrew the Islamic Republic, and re-established the Islamic Emirate. It was the longest war in the military history of the United States, surpassing the length of the Vietnam War (1955–1975) by approximately 6 months.

War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
Part of the Global War on Terrorism and the Afghan conflict
Clockwise from top-left: American troops in a firefight with Taliban insurgents in Kunar Province; An American F-15E Strike Eagle dropping 2000 pound JDAMs on a cave in eastern Afghanistan; an Afghan soldier surveying atop a Humvee; Afghan and American soldiers move through snow in Logar Province; victorious Taliban fighters after securing Kabul; an Afghan soldier surveying a valley in Parwan Province; British troops preparing to board a Chinook during Operation Black Prince
Date 7 October 2001 – 30 August 2021 (19 years, 10 months, 3 weeks and 2 days) First phase: 7 October 2001 – 28 December 2014 Second phase: 1 January 2015 – 30 August 2021[1][2] Location Afghanistan[lower-alpha 1] Result Taliban victory[3] Islamic State–Taliban conflict and insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa continues Anti-Taliban Republican insurgency begins First phase: Invasion and overthrow of the Taliban-governed Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan in December 2001 Beginning of Taliban insurgency Establishment of the coalition-backed Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in January 2004 Killing of Osama bin Laden on 2 May 2011 in Pakistan Gradual "Afghanization" of combat operations during ISAF drawdown Second phase: Doha Agreement between U.S. and Taliban begins withdrawal of U.S.-led forces, full withdrawal completes on 30 August 2021 2021 Taliban offensive culminates in overthrow of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Formal end of fighting on 15 August 2021 with the fall of Kabul National interim Taliban government announced on 7 September 2021 Territorial changes Taliban control over Afghanistan increases compared to pre-intervention territory
Belligerents
Invasion (2001):  Northern Alliance  United States  United Kingdom  Canada  Germany[4]  Australia  Italy  New Zealand[5]  Iran	Invasion (2001):  Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan[6]  Al-Qaeda  055 Brigade[7][8]
ISAF/RS phase (2001–2021):  Islamic State of Afghanistan (2001–2002)  Afghan Transitional Authority (2002–2004)  Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (2004–2021)  ISAF (2001–2014; 51 countries)[9]  United States  United Kingdom  Canada  Germany  Australia  Italy  New Zealand  France  Turkey  Georgia (country)  Jordan  Bulgaria  Poland  Romania  Spain  Czech Republic  Macedonia  Denmark  Armenia  Azerbaijan  Finland  Croatia  Hungary  Norway  Lithuania  Mongolia  United Arab Emirates  Belgium  Portugal  Slovakia  Netherlands  Montenegro  Latvia  Sweden  Albania  Ukraine  Bosnia–Herzegovina  Greece  Ireland  Iceland  Estonia  Austria  Malaysia  Slovenia  Colombia   Switzerland  Bahrain  El Salvador  Luxembourg  South Korea  Tonga  Singapore  Resolute Support (2015–2021; 36 countries)[10] High Council of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (allegedly; from 2015)[11][12] Khost Protection Force and other pro-government paramilitaries[13]	ISAF/RS phase (2001–2021):  Taliban Haqqani network[14] (from 2002)  Al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent[15] Supported by: Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin (on and off until 2016) Islamic Jihad Union[16][17] (from 2002) Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (until 2015) Turkistan Islamic Party Lashkar-e-Jhangvi[18] Pakistani Taliban[19] Lashkar-e-Islam  Iran (alleged, but denied by Iran)[20][21][22]  Pakistan (alleged, but denied by Pakistan)[23][24]  Russia (alleged, but denied by Russia)[25][26][27]  Saudi Arabia (alleged, but denied by Saudi Arabia)[28][29]  Qatar (alleged by Saudi Arabia, but denied by Qatar)[30][31]  China (alleged by the US, but denied by China)[32][33] Taliban splinter groups Mullah Dadullah Front (from 2012)[34] Fidai Mahaz (from 2013) RS phase (2015–2021): ISIL–KP (from 2015)[35] Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (since 2015)[36]
Commanders and leaders
List Hamid Karzai Ashraf Ghani George W. Bush Barack Obama Donald Trump Joe Biden Tony Blair Gordon Brown David Cameron Theresa May Boris Johnson Jean Chrétien Paul Martin Stephen Harper Justin Trudeau Gerhard Schröder Angela Merkel John Howard Kevin Rudd Julia Gillard Tony Abbott Malcolm Turnbull Scott Morrison Silvio Berlusconi Romano Prodi Mario Monti Enrico Letta Matteo Renzi Paolo Gentiloni Giuseppe Conte Mario Draghi Helen Clark John Key Bill English Jacinda Ardern Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr. John F. Campbell List of former ISAF Commanders List of former RS Commanders Nangialai †[12] Abdul Manan Niazi †[37]	List Mullah Omar # Akhtar Mansour † Hibatullah Akhundzada Obaidullah Akhund †[38] Jalaluddin Haqqani # Sirajuddin Haqqani Mullah Yaqoob Abdul Ghani Baradar Gulbuddin Hekmatyar Osama bin Laden † Ayman al-Zawahiri Asim Umar † Muhammad Rasul Haji Najibullah[39] Shahab al-Muhajir[40] Hafiz Saeed Khan † Mawlavi Habib Ur Rahman[41] Abdul Haseeb Logari † Abdul Rahman Ghaleb † Abu Saad Erhabi † Abdullah Orokzai (POW) Qari Hekmat † Mufti Nemat  Dawood Ahmad Sofi † Mohamed Zahran † Ishfaq Ahmed Sofi †
Strength
ISAF: 130,000+ (Peak Strength)[42] Afghan National Defense and Security Forces: 307,947 (Peak Strength, January 2021)[43] Resolute Support Mission: 17,178 (Peak Strength, October 2019)[44] Defence Contractors: 117,227 (Peak Strength, Q2 2012)[45] High Council of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan: 3,000–3,500[46] Khost Protection Force: 3,000-10,000 (2018)<refMujib Mashal (31 December 2018). "C.I.A.'s Afghan Forces Leave a Trail of Abuse and Anger". The New York Times.</ref>	Taliban: 58,000-100,000 (As of February 2021)[47] Haqqani network: 4,000–15,000 (2009)[48][49][50] HIG: 1,500–2,000+ (2014)[51] al-Qaeda: ~300 in 2016[52][53][54] (~ 3,000 in 2001)[52] Fidai Mahaz: 8,000 (2013)[39] ISIL–KP: 3,500–4,000 (2018, in Afghanistan)[55]
Casualties and losses
Afghan security forces: 66,000–69,095 killed[56][57] Northern Alliance: 200 killed[58][59][60][61][62] Coalition: Dead: 3,579 United States: 2,420 United Kingdom: 457[63] Canada: 159 France: 90 Germany: 62 Italy: 53 Others: 338 Wounded: 23,536 United States: 20,713[64] United Kingdom: 2,188[65] Canada: 635[66] Contractors Dead: 3,917[57][67][68] Wounded: 15,000+[67][68] Total killed: 76,591	Taliban insurgents: 52,893 killed[57] (2,000+ al-Qaeda fighters)[52] ISIL–KP: 2,400+ killed[35]
Civilians killed: 46,319[57] Total killed: 176,206 (per Brown University)[69] 212,191+ (per UCDP)[70]
a The continued list includes nations who have contributed fewer than 200 troops as of November 2014.[71] b The continued list includes nations who have contributed fewer than 200 troops as of May 2017.[72]

Following the September 11 attacks, President George W. Bush demanded that the Taliban immediately extradite al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden to the United States; the Taliban refused to do so without evidence of Bin Laden's involvement. The US declared Operation Enduring Freedom, as part of the earlier-declared war on terror. Afghanistan was invaded and the Taliban and its allies were soon expelled from major population centers by the US-led forces, supporting the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance; however, Bin Laden relocated to neighboring Pakistan. The US-led coalition remained in Afghanistan, forming a security mission (ISAF)—sanctioned by the United Nations—with the goal of creating a new democratic authority in the country that would prevent the Taliban from returning to power.[73] A new Afghan Interim Administration was established, and international rebuilding efforts were launched.[74] By 2003, the Taliban had reorganized under their founder, Mullah Omar, and began a widespread insurgency against the new Afghan government and coalition forces. Insurgents from the Taliban and other Islamist groups waged asymmetric warfare, fighting with guerrilla warfare in the countryside, suicide attacks against urban targets, and reprisals against perceived Afghan collaborators. By 2007, large parts of Afghanistan had been retaken by the Taliban.[75][76] In response, the coalition sent a major influx of troops for counter-insurgency operations, with a "clear and hold" strategy for villages and towns; this influx peaked in 2011, when roughly 140,000 foreign troops were operating under ISAF command across Afghanistan.[77]

A US covert operation in neighboring Pakistan led to the killing of Osama bin Laden in May 2011, and NATO leaders began planning an exit strategy from Afghanistan.[78][79] On 28 December 2014, NATO formally ended ISAF combat operations in Afghanistan and officially transferred full security responsibility to the Afghan government. Unable to eliminate the Taliban through military means, coalition forces (and separately, the Afghan government led by Ashraf Ghani) turned to diplomacy to end the conflict.[80] These efforts culminated in the US–Taliban deal in February 2020, which stipulated the withdrawal of all US troops from Afghanistan by 2021.[81] In exchange, the Taliban pledged to prevent any militant group from staging attacks from Afghan territory against the US and its allies.[82] However, the Afghan government was not a party to the deal and rejected its terms.[83] Coinciding with the withdrawal of troops, the Taliban launched a broad offensive throughout the summer of 2021, successfully reestablishing their control over Afghanistan, including the capital city of Kabul on 15 August. On the same day, the last president of the Islamic Republic, Ashraf Ghani, fled the country; the Taliban declared victory and the war was formally brought to a close.[84] By 30 August, the last American military aircraft departed from Afghanistan, ending the protracted US-led military presence in the country.[85][86]

Overall, the war killed an estimated 176,000–212,000+ people, including 46,319 civilians.[87] While more than 5.7 million former refugees returned to Afghanistan after the 2001 invasion,[88] by the time the Taliban returned to power in 2021, 2.6 million Afghans remained refugees,[89] while another 4 million were internally displaced.[90][91]