2021 Taliban offensive

A military campaign in which the Taliban captured most of Afghanistan and seized Kabul in August 2021, ending the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.

Fall of Kabul (2021): The Taliban's capture of Kabul on 15 August 2021, which ended the Afghan republic's control of the capital. The campaign's decisive final seizure of the national capital.
United States–Taliban deal: The February 2020 agreement in Doha setting terms for a U.S. withdrawal and Taliban commitments on terrorism. The agreement set the timetable and political context for the final U.S. withdrawal.
Ashraf Ghani: Afghanistan's president from 2014 until the Islamic Republic collapsed in August 2021. His departure from Kabul marked the republic's final loss of authority.
Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan: The name used by the Taliban for the Afghan state it re-established after taking power in 2021. It replaced the Islamic Republic after the Taliban's military victory.
Taliban insurgency: The Taliban's armed campaign against Afghanistan's post-2001 government and its international military allies. The 2021 offensive was a final conventional advance within this longer insurgency.
Afghan National Defense and Security Forces: The military and police forces of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, built and supported with substantial foreign assistance. Their rapid disintegration allowed Taliban advances to outpace expectations.
Withdrawal of United States troops from Afghanistan: The 2020–2021 departure of U.S. forces from Afghanistan, completed in August 2021. The withdrawal removed key military support as the Taliban intensified its campaign.
Abdul Ghani Baradar: A senior Taliban leader and co-founder who became a prominent negotiator and political figure. He represented the Taliban in negotiations and emerged as a leader after its victory.
Kabul airlift: The large-scale evacuation by air from Kabul airport in August 2021 after the Taliban captured the city. The capital's fall prompted an urgent international evacuation operation.
Soviet–Afghan War: The 1979–1989 war in which Soviet forces fought Afghan mujahideen and the Afghan communist government. It offers an earlier case of foreign-backed government forces losing control in Afghanistan.

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Afghan diasporaBroader topic: The fall of Kabul prompted an evacuation and a new wave of Afghan displacement.