Taliban insurgency

The Taliban’s armed campaign against Afghanistan’s government and its foreign military supporters after the group was removed from power in 2001. It ended with the Taliban’s return to national power in 2021.

Taliban: An Afghan Islamist movement that governed Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001 and returned to power in 2021. The insurgency was the movement’s campaign to regain the state it had lost.
United States invasion of Afghanistan: The 2001 military campaign that toppled the Taliban government after the September 11 attacks. The invasion removed the Taliban from power and preceded its armed return.
Mullah Akhtar Mansour: The Taliban leader who succeeded Mullah Omar and was killed in a US drone strike in 2016. His tenure oversaw the insurgency’s expansion and the opening of talks with the United States.
International Security Assistance Force: A NATO-led multinational force that operated in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2014. It led the international security mission that fought the insurgency before transferring combat responsibility.
Guerilla warfare: Irregular warfare in which smaller forces use ambushes, raids, and mobility against stronger opponents. The Taliban used dispersed attacks to offset the coalition’s conventional military superiority.
Battle of Tora Bora: A December 2001 battle in eastern Afghanistan during the US-led campaign against al-Qaeda and allied forces. The early campaign left Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters able to escape or disperse.
Haibatullah Akhundzada: The Taliban leader who became emir in 2016 and later headed Afghanistan’s restored Taliban government. He led the movement during the final years of the insurgency and its return to power.
Resolute Support Mission: A NATO-led training, advising, and assistance mission in Afghanistan from 2015 to 2021. Its mission supported Afghan forces as they faced the insurgency.
Improvised explosive device: A bomb assembled from nonstandard components and detonated by an improvised triggering system. Roadside bombs became a major Taliban weapon against patrols and transport.
Durand Line: The boundary between Afghanistan and Pakistan, established in 1893 and contested by successive Afghan governments. Cross-border movement and sanctuary made the frontier central to the insurgency’s persistence.

Linked from 9 pages