:War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)

This twenty-year armed conflict (2001–2021) is referred to as the War in Afghanistan{{Cite web |last1=Brangwin |first1=Nicole |last2=Gellerfy |first2=Thea |date=26 August 2021 |title=Background to the Afghanistan withdrawal: a quick guide |url=https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/rp/rp2122/Quick_Guides/BackgroundToAfghanistanWithdrawal |access-date=2023-11-15 |website=Australian Parliament House |language=en-AU |archive-date=15 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231115024338/https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/rp/rp2122/Quick_Guides/BackgroundToAfghanistanWithdrawal |url-status=live}} in order to distinguish it from Afghanistan's various other wars,{{Cite web |date=2011-05-04 |title=A historical timeline of Afghanistan |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/asia-jan-june11-timeline-afghanistan |access-date=2023-11-15 |website=PBS NewsHour |language=en-us |archive-date=12 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231212212051/https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/asia-jan-june11-timeline-afghanistan |url-status=live}} notably the ongoing Afghan conflict of which it was a part,{{Cite web |date=2023-10-18 |title=Afghan War {{!}} History, Casualties, Dates, & Facts |url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Afghan-War |access-date=2023-11-15 |website=Encyclopædia Britannica |language=en |archive-date=11 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161011171711/https://www.britannica.com/event/Afghan-War |url-status=live}} and the Soviet–Afghan War.{{Cite web |title="Burning with a Deadly Heat": NewsHour Coverage of the Hot Wars of the Cold War |url=https://americanarchive.org/exhibits/newshour-cold-war/afghanistan |access-date=2023-11-15 |website=American Archive of Public Broadcasting}} From the perspective of the West, the war is divided between 2001 and 2014 (the ISAF mission), when most combat operations were performed by coalition forces, a 2015 to 2021 (the Resolute Support Mission), when the Afghan armed forces did most of the fighting against the Taliban. The war was named Operation Enduring Freedom from 2001 to 2014{{Cite web |date=July 7, 2021 |title=Veterans Employment Toolkit: Dates and Names of Conflicts |url=https://www.va.gov/vetsinworkplace/docs/em_datesnames.asp |access-date=2023-11-15 |website=Department of Veterans Affairs |language=en}} and as Operation Freedom's Sentinel from 2015 to 2021 by the US.{{Cite web |last1=O'Donnell |first1=Sean W. |last2=Shaw |first2=Diana |last3=Ullom |first3=Thomas J. |title=Operation Enduring Sentinel, Operation Freedom's Sentinel: Lead Inspector General Report to the United States Congress |url=https://oig.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/2022-05/Operation%20Enduring%20Sentinel%20Lead%20Inspector%20General%20Quarterly%20Report%20to%20Congress%20January%201%202022%20to%20March%2031%202022.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220518174420/https://oig.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/2022-05/Operation%20Enduring%20Sentinel%20Lead%20Inspector%20General%20Quarterly%20Report%20to%20Congress%20January%201%202022%20to%20March%2031%202022.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=18 May 2022 |website=Office of the Inspector General}} Alternatively, it has been called the US War in Afghanistan.{{Cite web |title=Timeline: U.S. War in Afghanistan |url=https://www.cfr.org/timeline/us-war-afghanistan |access-date=2023-11-15 |website=Council on Foreign Relations |language=en |archive-date=27 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190227122228/https://www.cfr.org/timeline/us-war-afghanistan |url-status=live}}{{Cite web |title=Message to the Force – One Year Since the Conclusion of the Afghanistan War |url=https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/3144082/message-to-the-force-one-year-since-the-conclusion-of-the-afghanistan-war/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.defense.gov%2FNews%2FReleases%2FRelease%2FArticle%2F3144082%2Fmessage-to-the-force-one-year-since-the-conclusion-of-the-afghanistan-war%2F |access-date=2023-11-15 |website=U.S. Department of Defense |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=2014-05-27 |title=Fact Sheet: Bringing the U.S. War in Afghanistan to a Responsible End |url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2014/05/27/fact-sheet-bringing-us-war-afghanistan-responsible-end |access-date=2023-11-15 |website=White House |language=en |archive-date=15 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231115024335/https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2014/05/27/fact-sheet-bringing-us-war-afghanistan-responsible-end |url-status=live}} In Afghanistan itself, the war is known as simply the "War in Afghanistan" ({{langx|prs|جنگ در افغانستان}} {{Transliteration|prs|Jang dar Afghanistan}}, {{langx|ps|د افغانستان جګړه}} {{Transliteration|ps|Da Afghanistan Jagra}}).{{Cite news |script-title=fa:جنگ افغانستان |url=https://www.dw.com/fa-af/%D8%AC%D9%86%DA%AF-%D8%A7%D9%81%D8%BA%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%B3%D8%AA%D8%A7%D9%86/t-55956368 |access-date=2023-11-15 |website=Deutsche Welle |language=fa}}{{Cite news |last=دوزور |first=میگن |title=بهای جنگ |url=https://projects.voanews.com/afghanistan/timeline/dari.html |access-date=2023-11-15 |website=VOA |language=prs}}{{Cite news |script-title=ps:د افغانستان جګړه امریکا ته څومره ګرانه پرېوتې؟ |language=ps |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/pashto/world-56801359 |access-date=2023-11-15}}

{{Main|Prelude to the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)||}}

File:Afghanistan Civil War, Northern Alliance-Taliban.png

The Taliban emerged from religious students known as the Talib who sought to end warlordism in Afghanistan through stricter adherence to Sharia.{{Cite book |last=Saikal |first=Amin |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/58591822 |title=Modern Afghanistan : a history of struggle and survival |title-link= |date=2004 |publisher=I.B. Tauris |isbn=1-4175-8237-5 |edition=1st |location=London |pages=352 |oclc=58591822 |author-link=Amin Saikal}}{{cite web |year=2007 |url=http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB227/index.htm#17 |title=Documents Detail Years of Pakistani Support for Taliban, Extremists |publisher=National Security Archive |access-date=19 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080708224453/http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB227/index.htm#17 |archive-date=8 July 2008 |url-status=live}} On 27 September 1996, the Taliban, with military support by Pakistan and financial support from Saudi Arabia, seized Kabul and founded the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.{{sfn|Coll|2004|p=14}} The Taliban imposed their fundamentalist Deobandi interpretation of Islam in areas under their control, issuing edicts forbidding women to work outside the home, attend school or to leave their homes unless accompanied by a male relative.{{cite web |year=1998 |title=The Taliban's War on Women: A Health and Human Rights Crisis in Afghanistan |url=http://www.law.georgetown.edu/rossrights/docs/reports/taliban.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140103210524/http://www2.law.georgetown.edu/rossrights/docs/reports/taliban.pdf |archive-date=3 January 2014 |access-date=30 January 2014 |publisher=Physicians for Human Rights}} According to the United Nations (UN), the Taliban, while trying to consolidate control over northern and western Afghanistan, committed systematic massacres against civilians. UN officials stated that there had been "15 massacres" between 1996 and 2001, many of them targeting Shias and Hazaras.{{cite news |author=Gargan |first=Edward |date=October 2001 |title=Taliban massacres outlined for UN |work=Chicago Tribune |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2001/10/12/taliban-massacres-outlined-for-un/ |url-status=live |access-date=3 February 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110916074935/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2001-10-12/news/0110120312_1_taliban-fighters-massacres-in-recent-years-mullah-mohammed-omar |archive-date=16 September 2011}}{{cite web |author=Gargan |first=Edward |year=2001 |title=Confidential UN report details mass killings of civilian villagers |url=http://www.papillonsartpalace.com/massacre.htm |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021118162327/http://www.papillonsartpalace.com/massacre.htm |archive-date=18 November 2002 |access-date=12 October 2001 |publisher=newsday.org}}

By 2001, the Taliban controlled as much as 90% of Afghanistan, with the Northern Alliance confined to the country's northeast corner. Fighting alongside Taliban forces were some 28,000–30,000 Pakistanis (usually also Pashtun) and 2,000–3,000 Al-Qaeda militants.{{cite book |last=Marcela Grad |title=Massoud: An Intimate Portrait of the Legendary Afghan Leader |date=1 March 2009 |publisher=Webster University Press |page=310}}{{cite news |author=Rashid |first=Ahmed |date=11 September 2001 |title=Afghanistan resistance leader feared dead in blast |work=The Telegraph |location=London |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/1340244/Afghanistan-resistance-leader-feared-dead-in-blast.html |url-status=live |access-date=6 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131108225950/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/1340244/Afghanistan-resistance-leader-feared-dead-in-blast.html |archive-date=8 November 2013}}{{sfn|Girardet|2011|p=416}}

The 9/11 Commission in the US found that under the Taliban, Al-Qaeda was able to use Afghanistan as a place to train and teach fighters, import weapons, coordinate with other jihadists, and plot terrorist actions.{{Cite book |url=https://govinfo.library.unt.edu/911/report/911Report.pdf |title=The 9/11 Commission Report |collaboration=Kean, Hamilton |date=2004 |publisher=Government Printing Office |pages=66}} While Al-Qaeda maintained its own camps in Afghanistan, it also supported training camps of other organizations. An estimated 10,000 to 20,000 men passed through these facilities before 9/11, most of whom were sent to fight for the Taliban against the United Front. A smaller number were inducted into Al-Qaeda.{{Cite book |url=https://govinfo.library.unt.edu/911/report/911Report.pdf |title=The 9/11 Commission Report |collaboration=Kean, Hamilton |date=2004 |publisher=Government Printing Office |pages=67}}

After the August 1998 United States embassy bombings were linked to bin Laden, President Bill Clinton ordered missile strikes on militant training camps in Afghanistan. US officials pressed the Taliban to surrender bin Laden. In 1999, the international community imposed sanctions on the Taliban, calling for bin Laden to be surrendered. The Taliban repeatedly rebuffed these demands. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Special Activities Division paramilitary teams were active in Afghanistan in the 1990s in clandestine operations to locate and kill or capture Osama bin Laden. These teams planned several operations but did not receive the order to proceed from President Clinton. Their efforts built relationships with Afghan leaders that proved essential in the 2001 invasion.{{sfn|Coll|2004}}

{{Main|September 11 attacks}}

File:WTCgroundzero.jpg, September 2001]]

On the morning of Tuesday, September 11, 2001, a total of 19 men affiliated with Al-Qaeda carried out four coordinated attacks in the United States. Four commercial passenger jet airliners were hijacked.{{cite book |last=Holmes |first=Stephen |title=Making sense of suicide missions |year=2006 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-929797-9 |editor=Diego Gambetta |chapter=Al Qaeda, 11 September 2001}}{{cite book |last1=Keppel |first1=Gilles |title=Al Qaeda in its own words |year=2008 |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=978-0-674-02804-3 |last2=Milelli |first2=Jean-Pierre |last3=Ghazaleh |first3=Pascale |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780674028043}} The hijackers intentionally crashed two of the airliners into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, killing everyone on board and more than 2,000 people in the buildings. Both buildings collapsed within two hours from damage related to the crashes, destroying and damaging nearby buildings. The hijackers crashed a third airliner into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, just outside Washington, D.C. The fourth plane crashed into a field near Shanksville, in rural Pennsylvania, after some of its passengers and flight crew attempted to retake control of the plane, which the hijackers had redirected toward Washington, D.C., to target the White House, or the US Capitol. No one aboard the flights survived. The death toll among responders including firefighters and police was 836 as of 2009. Total deaths were 2,996, including the 19 hijackers.{{cite news |publisher=FOX News |title=9 Years Later, Nearly 900 9/11 Responders Have Died, Survivors Fight for Compensation |date=11 September 2010 |url=https://www.foxnews.com/politics/9-years-later-nearly-900-9-11-responders-have-died-survivors-fight-for-compensation/ |access-date=12 September 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100911224043/http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/09/09/report-responders-died-ground-zero-illnesses/ |archive-date=11 September 2010 |url-status=live}}

Osama bin Laden planned and coordinated the attacks, and the US desire to hold him accountable became the casus belli for invasion. Historian Carter Malkasian writes that "seldom in history has one man so singlehandedly provoked a war." Bin Laden sought, successfully, to draw the US into an extended war similar to that fought against the Soviets.{{Cite book |last=Malkasian |first=Carter |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1240264784 |title=The American war in Afghanistan : a history |date=2021 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-755077-9 |location=New York |oclc=1240264784 |access-date=4 October 2021 |archive-date=2 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211202122832/https://www.worldcat.org/title/american-war-in-afghanistan-a-history/oclc/1240264784 |url-status=live}}{{Rp|62–64}} The Taliban publicly condemned the 11 September attacks. They also greatly underestimated the US's willingness to go to war. The US was mistaken in its belief that the Taliban and Al-Qaeda were almost inseparable when, in fact, they had very different goals and leaders.{{Rp|65–70}}

Immediately after the 9/11 attacks, the United States National Security Council agreed that military action would probably have to be taken against Al-Qaeda and the Taliban. However, Bush decided to issue an ultimatum to the Taliban first,{{Rp|54}} demanding that the Taliban hand over Osama bin Laden, "close immediately every terrorist training camp, hand over every terrorist and their supporters, and give the United States full access to terrorist training camps for inspection."{{cite news |title=The US refuses to negotiate with the Taliban |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/events/the_us_refuses_to_negotiate_with_the_taliban |publisher=BBC History |access-date=27 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181203142713/http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/events/the_us_refuses_to_negotiate_with_the_taliban |archive-date=3 December 2018}} The same day, religious scholars met in Kabul, deciding that bin Laden should be surrendered; however, Mullah Omar decided that "turning over Osama would only be a disgrace for us and Islamic thought and belief would be a weakness", and that the US would continue making demands after surrendering bin Laden, who he claimed was innocent.{{Rp|56}} The Taliban refused the ultimatum, saying that Osama bin Laden was protected by the traditional Pashtun laws of hospitality.{{cite web |last1=Daalder |first1=Ivo H. |last2=Lindsay |first2=James M. |date=April 2003 |title=The Bush Revolution: The Remaking of America's Foreign Policy, page 19 |publisher=The Brookings Institution |quote="Despite intense diplomatic pressure, the Taliban rejected Bush's demands." |url=https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/20030425.pdf |access-date=27 August 2021 |archive-date=17 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817030350/https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/20030425.pdf |url-status=live}}{{cite news |last=Khan |first=Afzal |date=2 March 2010 |title=In Afghanistan, U.S. is fighting tribal insurgency, not jihad |work=The Baltimore Sun |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/2010/03/02/in-afghanistan-us-is-fighting-tribal-insurgency-not-jihad/ |access-date=27 October 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181028033819/http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2010-03-02/news/bal-op.pashtun02mar02_1_pashtuns-taliban-afghanistan-jihad |archive-date=28 October 2018}}

In the weeks ahead and at the beginning of the US and NATO invasion of Afghanistan, the Taliban demanded evidence of bin Laden's guilt but subsequently offered to hand him over to a third country if the US stopped its bombing and provided evidence of his guilt.{{cite news |last=Gannon |first=Kathy |date=14 October 2001 |title=Bush Rejects Taliban Bin Laden Offer |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/aponline/20011014/aponline135016_000.htm?noredirect=on |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181023120130/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/aponline/20011014/aponline135016_000.htm?noredirect=on |archive-date=23 October 2018 |access-date=23 October 2018 |newspaper=Washington Post}}{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/bush-rejects-taliban-offer-to-surrender-bin-laden-9143208.html |title=Bush rejects Taliban offer to surrender bin Laden |work=The Independent |access-date=23 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181023121549/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/bush-rejects-taliban-offer-to-surrender-bin-laden-9143208.html |archive-date=23 October 2018}} A Bush administration official later stated that their demands were "not subject to negotiation" and that it was "time for the Taliban to act now."{{cite web |last1=Robertson |first1=Nic |last2=Wallace |first2=Kelly |title=CNN.com – U.S. rejects Taliban offer to try bin Laden – October 7, 2001 |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2001/US/10/07/ret.us.taliban/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040614003300/http://www.cnn.com/2001/US/10/07/ret.us.taliban/ |archive-date=14 June 2004 |access-date=23 October 2018 |website=CNN}} Covert US military action began soon after, and the War started officially on 7 October 2001.{{Rp|58}}

{{Main|History of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)}}

The war contained two main factions: the Coalition, which included the US and its allies (eventually supporting the government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan), fighting against the Taliban, its allies, and its militias. Complicating the fight were Taliban splinter groups and other, more radical religious groups such as al-Qaeda and later the Islamic State. These radical groups sometimes fought for the Taliban, sometimes fought for their own goals, and sometimes fought against both the Taliban and the government.

Afghanistan is a rural country; in 2020, some 80% of its 33 million people lived in the countryside.{{Rp|12}} This predisposes warfare to rural areas, and provides ample hiding spots for guerrilla fighters. The country also has harsh winters, which favors spring or summertime military offensives after winter lulls in fighting.{{Cite news |date=2019-04-12 |title=Taliban announce annual spring offensive in Afghanistan |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-afghanistan-taliban-idUSKCN1RO0LU |access-date=2022-11-14}}{{Cite web |title=Harsh winter leaves vulnerable population exposed in Kabul – Afghanistan {{!}} ReliefWeb |url=https://reliefweb.int/report/afghanistan/harsh-winter-leaves-vulnerable-population-exposed-kabul |access-date=2022-11-14 |website=reliefweb.int |date=4 January 2013 |language=en |archive-date=14 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221114114425/https://reliefweb.int/report/afghanistan/harsh-winter-leaves-vulnerable-population-exposed-kabul |url-status=live}} Afghanistan is 99.7% Muslim,{{cite web |title=Afghanistan |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/afghanistan/ |access-date=22 August 2018 |work=The World Factbook |publisher=cia.gov |archive-date=4 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210104184342/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/afghanistan/ |url-status=live}} which affected the ideology of both the Taliban and the Afghan government. Islam has historically allowed Afghan leaders to overcome tribal differences and conflict, and provided a sense of unity, especially against foreigners and non-Muslims. Centuries of foreign invasion by non-Muslims cemented the religious nature of resisting outsiders and the Afghan identity.{{Rp|17–19}} The impact of local religious leaders (mullahs) is important in Afghanistan, and they could influence the population as much as the government. Mullahs have traditionally been important in prescribing resistance to outsiders through calls for holy war or jihad.{{Rp|23–24}}

Afghanistan is a largely tribal society, and this significantly influences Afghan society and politics. Tribalism is largely a source of division, unlike Islam. Pashtuns are the largest ethnic group in Afghanistan, comprising between 38% and 50% of the population.{{cite book |year=2018 |publisher=The Asia Foundation |title=Afganistan in 2018. A Survey of the Afghan People |url=https://www.asiafoundation.org/resources/pdfs/Surveybook2012web1.pdf |page=283 |access-date=7 October 2021 |archive-date=15 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121115230323/https://asiafoundation.org/resources/pdfs/Surveybook2012web1.pdf |url-status=live}} Pashtunwali, the traditional way of life for the Pashtuns, guided most tribal decision making. Tribal unity was often weak as well due to Pashtunwali's method of dealing with feuds. Traditionally, Afghan leaders have depended on tribes to keep order in rural areas because without their cooperation the state was often ineffective and weak. Afghans were more loyal to their own community and tribe, not the state, which meant that tribes would align with either the Taliban or the Government as was most beneficial.{{Rp|19–22}}

The significant difference in power between high-tech Coalition militaries and the guerrilla Taliban led to asymmetric warfare. Owing to their roots in the anti-Soviet Mujahideen, the Taliban carried on the guerrilla tactics developed in the 1980s. The Mujihdeen operated in small cadres of 10 to 50 men, armed with a combination of outdated and (usually looted) modern weapons.{{Rp|31}} The Taliban increasingly used guerrilla tactics such as suicide, car and roadside bombs (IEDs), and targeted assassinations.[https://unama.unmissions.org/civilian-casualties-keep-rising-says-un-report 'Civilian casualties keep on rising, says UN report'] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171014234410/https://unama.unmissions.org/civilian-casualties-keep-rising-says-un-report|date=14 October 2017}}. UNAMA, 31 July 2009. Retrieved 9 October 2017. By 2009, IEDs had become the Taliban's weapon of choice.{{cite web |author=Ben Arnoldy |date=31 July 2009 |title=In Afghanistan, Taliban kills more civilians than US |url=http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0731/p06s15-wosc.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090803190403/http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0731/p06s15-wosc.html |archive-date=3 August 2009 |access-date=8 October 2017 |work=Christian Science Monitor}} The Taliban also used insider attacks as the war drew on, by planting personnel in the Afghan military and police forces.{{cite news |title=American army officer killed, many wounded in Afghan insider attack |url=http://www.afghanistansun.com/index.php/sid/224460361 |access-date=7 August 2014 |work=Afghanistan Sun |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006084513/http://www.afghanistansun.com/index.php/sid/224460361 |archive-date=6 October 2014 |url-status=live}}

{{Main|United States invasion of Afghanistan}}

{{See also|Battle of Tora Bora|Operation Anaconda|Operation Harpoon (2002)}}

File:US soldiers on horseback 2001 Afghanistan.jpg and US Air Force Combat Controllers with Northern Alliance troops on horseback in Samangan Province, 2001]]

Though the US officially invaded on 7 October 2001 by launching Operation Enduring Freedom, covert operations had begun several weeks earlier. Fifteen days after the 9/11 attack, the US covertly inserted members of the CIA's Special Activities Division into Afghanistan, forming the Northern Afghanistan Liaison Team.{{cite web |last1=Moore |first1=J. Daniel |title=Review of First In: An Insider's Account of How the CIA Spearheaded the War on Terror in Afghanistan |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/vol49no4/War_on_Terror_9.htm |url-status=dead |access-date=21 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090211214827/https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/vol49no4/War_on_Terror_9.htm |archive-date=11 February 2009}} They linked up with the Northern Alliance in the Panjshir Valley north of Kabul.{{cite book |last=Malkasian |first=Carter |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k8owEAAAQBAJ |title=The American War in Afghanistan: A History |date=2021 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-755079-3 |page=61 |author-link=Carter Malkasian |access-date=12 September 2021 |archive-date=12 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240312005345/https://books.google.com/books?id=k8owEAAAQBAJ |url-status=live}} In October, 12-man Special Forces teams began arriving in Afghanistan to work with the CIA and Northern Alliance. Within a few weeks the Northern Alliance, with assistance from the US ground and air forces, captured several key cities from the Taliban.{{cite web |title=Units Credited With Assault Landings |url=https://armypubs.army.mil/epubs/pdf/go0610.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061001031543/http://www.army.mil/usapa/epubs/pdf/go0610.pdf |archive-date=1 October 2006 |access-date=28 June 2017 |website=army.mil |df=dmy-all}}{{cite web |last1=Gresham |first1=John |date=12 September 2011 |title=The Campaign Plan – Special Operations Forces and Operation Enduring Freedom |url=http://www.defensemedianetwork.com/stories/operation-enduring-freedom-the-first-49-days-2/ |access-date=11 September 2015 |archive-date=17 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210717095801/https://www.defensemedianetwork.com/stories/operation-enduring-freedom-the-first-49-days-2/ |url-status=live}} The Taliban retreated throughout the country, holding steady only in Kunduz Province, outmatched by US air support. By November, the Taliban had lost control of most of the country.{{Rp|70–75}}

The US did not invade alone: it began with assistance from the UK, and eventually over a dozen more countries.{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/oct/07/politics.september11 |title=After the September Eleventh Terrorist attacks on America, "It's time for war, Bush and Blair tell Taliban – We're ready to go in – PM|Planes shot at over Kabul" |work=The Guardian |date=7 October 2001 |access-date=2 August 2011 |location=London |first1=Ed |last1=Vulliamy |first2=Patrick |last2=Wintour |first3=Ian |last3=Traynor |first4=Kamal |last4=Ahmed |archive-date=25 August 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130825194117/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/oct/07/politics.september11 |url-status=live}}{{cite news |title=Canada in Afghanistan: 2001 |url=http://afghanistan.nationalpost.com/canada-in-afghanistan-2001/ |access-date=7 June 2013 |newspaper=National Post |archive-date=15 June 2013 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130615215843/http://afghanistan.nationalpost.com/canada-in-afghanistan-2001/ |url-status=dead}}{{cite magazine |last=Filkins |first=Dexter |date=2013-09-23 |title=The Shadow Commander |url=http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/09/30/the-shadow-commander |access-date=2022-04-20 |magazine=The New Yorker |language=en-US |archive-date=31 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150331221117/http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/09/30/the-shadow-commander |url-status=live}} The US and its allies drove the Taliban from power and built military bases near major cities across the country. Most al-Qaeda and Taliban were not captured, escaping to neighboring Pakistan or retreating to rural or remote mountainous regions.{{cite news |url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/03/16/how-al-qaeda-escaped-afghanistan-and-lived-to-fight-another-day |title=How Al Qaeda Escaped Afghanistan and Lived to Fight Another Day |first=Yaniv |last=Barzilai |date=30 January 2017 |website=The Daily Beast |access-date=28 June 2017 |archive-date=12 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171012043858/https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-al-qaeda-escaped-afghanistan-and-lived-to-fight-another-day |url-status=live}} On 20 December 2001, the United Nations authorized an International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), with a mandate to help the Afghans maintain security in Kabul and surrounding areas.[http://www.cdi.org/terrorism/isaf.cfm ISAF in Afghanistan] CDI, Terrorism Project – 14 February 2002. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120414182423/http://www.cdi.org/terrorism/isaf.cfm|date=14 April 2012}} Its mandate did not extend beyond the Kabul area for the first few years.{{cite web |title=ISAF Chronology |url=http://www.nato.int/isaf/topics/chronology/index.html |access-date=2 August 2011 |publisher=Nato.int |archive-date=13 November 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101113041055/http://www.nato.int/isaf/topics/chronology/index.html |url-status=dead}} 18 countries contributed to the force in February 2002.

The CIA created Counter-terrorism Pursuit Teams staffed by Afghans at the war's beginning.{{cite news |last=Whitlock |first=Craig |date=22 September 2010 |title=Book tells of secret CIA teams staging raids into Pakistan |url=http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2012971667_wars23.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110222071111/http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2012971667_wars23.html |archive-date=22 February 2011 |work=The Seattle Times}}{{cite news |last1=Whitlock |first1=Craig |last2=Miller |first2=Greg |date=23 September 2010 |title=Paramilitary force is key for CIA |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/22/AR2010092206141.html |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=12 September 2021 |archive-date=19 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019042351/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/22/AR2010092206141.html |url-status=live}} This force grew to over 3,000 by 2010 and was considered one of the "best Afghan fighting forces." These units were not only effective in operations against the Taliban and al-Qaeda forces in Afghanistan,{{sfn|Woodward|2010|p=8}} but also expanded their operations into Pakistan.{{sfn|Woodward|2010|p=367}}

Who would lead the country became an acute political question. At the Bonn Conference in December 2001, Hamid Karzai was selected to head the Afghan Interim Administration, which after a 2002 loya jirga (grand assembly) in Kabul became the Afghan Transitional Administration. The agreement provided steps that would lead to democracy for the country.{{cite journal |last1=Felbab-Brown |first1=Vanda |author-link=Vanda Felbab-Brown |year=2012 |title=Slip-Sliding on a Yellow Brick Road: Stabilization Efforts in Afghanistan |journal=Stability: International Journal of Security and Development |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=4–19 |doi=10.5334/sta.af |doi-access=free |issn=2165-2627}}

Shortly after the elevation of Karzai to the president on 5 December, the Taliban may have tried to seek a conditional surrender to Karzai. There are two conflicting accounts. The first is that an agreement, possibly signed by Mullah Omar, leader of the Taliban, was reached wherein the Taliban would surrender in exchange for immunity. The second is that the agreement was more narrowly focused on surrendering Kandahar. Taliban sources, on the other hand, say that Omar was not part of the deal and was not going to surrender Kandahar. Whatever the case, the US vetoed any sort of negotiation, in what historian Malkasian calls "one of the greatest mistakes" of the war. Omar disappeared, leaving either for another part of Afghanistan or Pakistan. The Taliban subsequently went into hiding, or fled to Pakistan, though many gave up arms as well. Most leaders and thousands of fighters went to Pakistan. Whether the Taliban had decided on an insurgency at this time is unknown.{{Rp|74–84}} Taliban fighters remained in hiding in the rural regions of four southern provinces: Kandahar, Zabul, Helmand and Uruzgan.{{cite news |title=U.S. remains on trail of bin Laden, Taliban leader |publisher=CNN |date=14 March 2002 |url=https://www.cnn.com/2002/US/03/14/ret.osama.whereabouts/index.html |access-date=29 January 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117094334/http://articles.cnn.com/2002-03-14/us/ret.osama.whereabouts_1_mullah-mohammed-omar-taliban-leader-bin?_s=PM:US |archive-date=17 January 2013}}

File:Canadian_soldiers_afghanistan.jpg, search for Al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters after an air assault, approach on an objective north of Qalati Ghilji, 2002|left]]

By late November, bin Laden was at a fortified training camp in Tora Bora. The Battle of Tora Bora began on 30 November. CIA teams working with tribal militias followed bin Laden there and began to call in airstrikes to clear out the mountainous camp, with special forces soon arriving in support. While the tribal militia numbered 1,000, it was not fighting eagerly during Ramadan. While the CIA requested that United States Army Rangers be sent and Marines were ready to deploy, they were declined. Bin Laden was eventually able to escape at some point in December to Pakistan.{{Rp|76–79}}

The invasion was a striking military success for the Coalition. Fewer than 12 US soldiers died between October and March, compared to some 15,000 Taliban killed or taken prisoner. Special forces teams and their Afghan allies had done most of the work and relatively few soldiers had been required. Karzai was a respected, legitimate, and charismatic leader. Still, according to Malkasian, the failure to capture bin Laden or negotiate with the Taliban, or include them in any way in the new government, set the course for the long war that bin Laden had dreamed of getting the US into.{{Rp|86–88}}

In the early years of the war, Pakistan had been seen as a firm ally, and little concern had been given to its support of the Taliban. Pakistan had also helped capture numerous top Al-Qaeda leaders, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. But internally, Pakistan was providing significant funding, access to safe houses, and political support to the Taliban. Public opinion in Pakistan heavily favored the Taliban, and the US invasion was viewed very negatively. The government was in no position to expel the Taliban, lest it starts a conflict within its already fragile country. Thus the Taliban continued to use Pakistan as a base of operations and a safe haven to rebuild their strength.{{Rp|129–132}}

{{Further|Taliban insurgency|Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa|2003 in Afghanistan|2004 in Afghanistan|2005 in Afghanistan}}

After initial success, the US lacked an obvious goal in Afghanistan beyond the counter-terrorism objectives of finding senior Taliban and Al-Qaeda leaders. Nation-building was initially opposed by the Bush administration, but as the US stayed, it slowly crept into the rationale for staying. In April 2002, Bush made a speech expressing a desire to rebuild Afghanistan. The US also sought to instill democracy and women's rights as a moral matter. The international community contributed to the development effort in Afghanistan, which focused on aid and creating institutions to run the country. US reconstruction efforts also focused on improving education, health care, and community development. The US also supported and funded the creation of an Afghan army in early 2002. However, the army was built slowly due to competing interests and a US belief that the Taliban were no longer a strong threat. Some in the Bush administration preferred to use the Northern Alliance and warlords as the military instead of creating a new military. The army became an afterthought and was poorly trained and equipped, which further enabled the Taliban.{{Rp|89–105}}

The first attempt at a larger organization of Taliban groups after the invasion occurred in April 2002 in the country's south. A shura was established by former mid-level Taliban officials in Gardi Jangal a refugee camp near the Helmand border. It operated in the core southern provinces of Kandahar, Helmand, Zabul, and Uruzgan. It was composed of 23 groups of about 50 individuals each, for a total of around 1,200. In the North Waziristan District of Pakistan, Jalaluddin Haqqani had started organizing the Haqqani network after exiling there in 2001. In early 2002 their manpower was estimated at 1,400 and had a presence in Paktia Province and Khost Province in the second half of 2002 with limited activity. They were joined by members of Al-Qaeda. Operation Jacana & Operation Condor, among others, tried to flush out the Taliban with varying results.{{Rp|25–29}}

File:Neotaliban insurgency 2002-2006 en.png

Some members of the Taliban reached out to Karzai to open negotiations several times between 2002 and 2004, but the US was adamantly against this and ensured that all top Taliban leaders were blacklisted, such that the Afghan Government could not negotiate with them. Historian Malkasian argues that negotiations with the Taliban would have been low cost but highly effective at this stage and attributes it to US overconfidence and hubris, and notes that all the information that the Taliban could resurge was available but ignored.{{Rp|106–111}} Some Taliban leaders considered joining the political process, with meetings on the issue until 2004, though these did not result in a decision to do so.{{Rp|19}}

From 2002 to 2005, the Taliban reorganized and planned a resurgence. Pressure on Coalition forces to hunt down terrorists led to excesses and generated some popular support for the Taliban. Coalition troops would go on missions with questionable intelligence, at one point falling prey to a false tip provided by a target's political opponents. Few high-level Taliban or al-Qaeda leaders were caught. Those captured were predominantly low-level Taliban operatives who had little information on al-Qaeda. Numerous civilians were killed in operations, including a wedding which was misinterpreted as a Taliban gathering. Repeated errors by Coalition forces drove Taliban recruitment. Many Taliban leaders who had given up arms to leave peacefully, especially after being promised amnesty by President Karzai, were increasingly harassed by the US and elements of the Afghan government. By 2004, most Taliban leaders in Afghanistan had fled back to Pakistan, where the remnants of the Taliban were hiding. Malkasian argues that the US provided significant momentum to the Taliban by its own missteps, especially by focusing on aggressive counter-terrorism and vengeance for 9/11. He further argues that these actions alone did not restart the conflict because the Taliban would have re-emerged regardless because of leaders like Mullah Omar and Jalaluddin Haqqani who had never put down arms.{{Rp|119–123}}File:US 10th Mountain Division soldiers in Afghanistan.jpg

The Taliban undertook relatively few actions until 2005. Pamphlets by Taliban and other groups turned up strewn in towns and the countryside in early 2003, urging Islamic faithful to rise up against US forces and other foreign soldiers in a holy war.{{cite news |title=Leaflet War Rages in Afghan Countryside |agency=Associated Press |date=14 February 2003 |url=http://www.intellnet.org/news/2003/02/14/16788-1.html |access-date=6 October 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928142619/http://www.intellnet.org/news/2003/02/14/16788-1.html |archive-date=28 September 2007}} American attention was diverted from Afghanistan when US forces invaded Iraq in March 2003.{{cite web |date=2021-07-06 |title=Timeline: US intervention in Afghanistan |url=https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20210706-timeline-us-intervention-in-afghanistan |access-date=2021-09-14 |website=France 24 |archive-date=12 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210912211024/https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20210706-timeline-us-intervention-in-afghanistan |url-status=live}} In May 2003, the Taliban Supreme Court's chief justice, Abdul Salam, proclaimed that the Taliban were back, regrouped, rearmed, and ready for guerrilla war to expel US forces from Afghanistan.{{cite news |title=Taliban appears to be regrouped and well-funded |author1=Tohid, Owias |author2=Baldauf, Scott |name-list-style=amp |work=Christian Science Monitor |date=8 May 2003 |url=http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0508/p01s02-wosc.html |access-date=28 February 2007 |archive-date=18 August 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070818025509/http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0508/p01s02-wosc.html |url-status=live}}

As the summer of 2003 continued, Taliban attacks gradually increased in frequency. Dozens of Afghan government soldiers, NGO humanitarian workers, and several US soldiers died in the raids, ambushes, and rocket attacks. Besides guerrilla attacks, Taliban fighters began building up forces in the district of Dey Chopan District in Zabul Province. The Taliban decided to make a stand there. Over the course of the summer, up to 1,000 guerrillas moved there. Over 220 people, including several dozen Afghan police, were killed in August 2003.{{cite web |author=The Associated Press |title=Troops Rush Afghanistan in Taliban hunt |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1320&dat=20030321&id=t-lWAAAAIBAJ&pg=6360,4863738 |access-date=12 April 2014 |publisher=The Gainesville Sun |archive-date=9 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709191017/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1320&dat=20030321&id=t-lWAAAAIBAJ&pg=6360,4863738 |url-status=live}} On 11 August, NATO assumed control of ISAF.{{cite news |first=Alyssa J. |last=Rubin |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/23/world/asia/23afghan.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091224064728/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/23/world/asia/23afghan.html |archive-date=2009-12-24 |url-access=limited |url-status=live |title=NATO Chief Promises to Stand by Afghanistan |newspaper=The New York Times |date=22 December 2009 |access-date=29 January 2014}}

Taliban leader Mullah Omar reorganized the movement, and in 2003 launched an insurgency against the government and ISAF.{{cite web |title=The Taliban Resurgence in Afghanistan |url=http://www.cfr.org/publication/10551/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060927101915/http://www.cfr.org/publication/10551/ |archive-date=27 September 2006}}{{cite book |author1=Rothstein, Hy S |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w7fmg1cCjskC&q=Al+Qaeda |title=Afghanistan: and the troubled future of unconventional warfare By Hy S. Rothstein |date=15 August 2006 |publisher=Manas Publications |isbn=978-81-7049-306-8 |access-date=15 October 2020 |archive-date=19 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231119045904/https://books.google.com/books?id=w7fmg1cCjskC&q=Al+Qaeda |url-status=live}} From the second half of 2003 and through 2004 operations started intensifying, with night letters followed by kidnappings and assassinations of government officials and collaborating village elders by 2005, with the former leaving villages in fear. Government schools and clinics were also burned down.{{Rp|34}}

Privately, the Taliban were preparing a grand offensive against the Coalition. It was to be several years in the making so that enough strength could be gathered. Mullah Dadullah was put in charge of the offensive. His tactics were largely effective. He was responsible for introducing suicide bombing into wide use around 2004, as previously the Taliban had not been enamored by suicide or taking civilian lives; that had been an Al-Qaeda tactic. A network of madrassas in Pakistan catering to Afghan refugees provided a steady stream of extremist recruits willing to die.{{Rp|125–127}}

File:3rd Battalion, 3rd Marines - Afghanistan.jpg, 2005]]

Operation Asbury Park cleared out Taliban forces in the Dey Chopan District during the summer of 2004.{{cite web |title=22nd MEU Afghanistan Recap: Operation ASBURY PARK |url=https://www.22ndmeu.marines.mil/News/Article-View/Article/510108/22nd-meu-afghanistan-recap-operation-asbury-park/ |access-date=2021-10-04 |website=22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit |archive-date=4 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211104003511/https://www.22ndmeu.marines.mil/News/Article-View/Article/510108/22nd-meu-afghanistan-recap-operation-asbury-park/ |url-status=live}} In late 2004, the then-hidden Taliban leader Mullah Omar announced an insurgency against America and the transitional Afghan government forces to "regain the sovereignty of our country."{{cite news |title=Asia: Afghanistan: Taliban Leader Vows Return |last=Gall |first=Carlotta |work=The New York Times |date=13 November 2004 |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F05E5DB173FF930A25752C1A9629C8B63 |access-date=6 October 2017 |archive-date=23 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210623144546/https://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/13/washington/world/world-briefing-asia-afghanistan-taliban-leader-vows-return.html |url-status=live}} The 2004 Afghan presidential election was a major target of Taliban, though only 20 districts and 200 villages elsewhere were claimed to have been successfully prevented from voting. Karzai was elected president of the country, now named the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.{{Cite book |last=Giustozzi |first=Antonio |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CB6sDwAAQBAJ&q=the+taliban+at+war |title=The Taliban at War: 2001–2018 |date=2019 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-009239-9}}{{Rp|40}}

The US started using drone strikes in Pakistan in 2004, starting along the Federal Tribal Areas against Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants.{{cite magazine |last1=Ghosh |first1=Bobby |last2=Thompson |first2=Mark |date=1 June 2009 |title=The CIA's Silent War in Pakistan |url=http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,1900248,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120914063431/http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,1900248,00.html |archive-date=14 September 2012 |access-date=16 December 2011 |magazine=Time}}{{cite web |last1=Miller |first1=Greg |last2=Tate |first2=Julie |date=1 September 2011 |title=CIA shifts focus to killing targets |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/cia-shifts-focus-to-killing-targets/2011/08/30/gIQA7MZGvJ_story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131126132531/http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/cia-shifts-focus-to-killing-targets/2011/08/30/gIQA7MZGvJ_story.html |archive-date=26 November 2013 |access-date=10 December 2017 |via=www.WashingtonPost.com |df=dmy-all}}

In June and July 2005, United States Navy Seals carried out Operation Red Wings as a joint military operation in Kunar Province. The mission intended to disrupt local Taliban led by Ahmad Shah, hopefully bringing stability and facilitating the Afghan Parliament elections scheduled for September 2005. The operation was a pyrrhic victory for the Coalition, with only one survivor (dramatized in the 2013 film Lone Survivor) and 19 dead.{{citation |url=http://www.marinecorpsgazette-digital.com/marinecorpsgazette/200612/?pg=16#pg16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071028212916/http://www.marinecorpsgazette-digital.com/marinecorpsgazette/200612/?pg=16#pg16 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2007-10-28 |title=Operation Red Wings: A Joint Failure in Unity of Command, Pages 14–20 |last1=MacMannis |first1=Andrew |last2=Scott |first2=Robert |publisher=Marine Corps Association / Marine Corps Gazette |access-date=2012-02-05}}{{Citation |last=Darack |first=Ed |title=Victory Point: Operations Red Wings and Whalers – The Marine Corps' Battle for Freedom in Afghanistan |year=2010 |publisher=Penguin Group |isbn=978-0-425-23259-0}}{{citation |author=Darack, Ed |url=http://www.marinecorpsgazette-digital.com/marinecorpsgazette/201101/?pg=65#pg65 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110119111355/http://www.marinecorpsgazette-digital.com/marinecorpsgazette/201101/?pg=65#pg65 |url-status=dead |archive-date=19 January 2011 |title=Operation Red Wings: What Really Happened? |journal=Marine Corps Gazette |date=January 2011 |pages=62–65 |access-date=2011-06-13}} Operation Whalers would finish the job several weeks later. Taliban activity dropped significantly and Shah was seriously wounded. Shah was not able to undertake any significant operations subsequent to Operation Whalers in Kunar or neighboring provinces.{{citation |author=BBC |title=Afghan Raids 'kill 100 militants' |date=22 August 2005 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4172732.stm |publisher=news.bbc.co.uk |access-date=2012-02-08 |archive-date=21 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210421082256/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4172732.stm |url-status=live}}

The Taliban regained control over several villages in the south by the end of 2005, mostly because the villages were frustrated with the lack of help from the government and hoped life would be better under the Taliban. Years of planning were coming to fruition for the Taliban. By comparison, the Government was in a very weak position. The police were deeply underfunded, and the average district had only 50 officers. Some districts had no Government presence at all. Most of the country's militias (with a strength of ~100,000) had been demobilized due to international pressure to create an army, but it was still weak. Combined with an increase in tribal feuding, the conditions were perfect for a Taliban comeback.{{Rp|134–136}}

{{Further|Taliban insurgency|Coalition combat operations in Afghanistan in 2006|Coalition combat operations in Afghanistan in 2007|Coalition combat operations in Afghanistan in 2008}}

As insurgent attacks in the country reportedly grew fourfold between 2002 and 2006,{{cite web |title=The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit research organization providing objective analysis and effective solutions that address the challenges facing the public and private sectors around the world |url=https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/testimonies/2007/RAND_CT296.pdf |website=www.rand.org |access-date=7 December 2021 |archive-date=5 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210705195221/https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/testimonies/2007/RAND_CT296.pdf |url-status=live}} by late 2007 Afghanistan was said to be in "serious danger" of falling into Taliban control despite the presence of 40,000 ISAF troops.{{cite web |title=Afghanistan 'falling into hands of Taliban' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/nov/22/afghanistan.richardnortontaylor |website=The Guardian |language=en |date=November 22, 2007 |access-date=11 September 2021 |archive-date=15 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210815163259/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/nov/22/afghanistan.richardnortontaylor |url-status=live}}File: Air assaulting Lwar Kowndalan.jpg helicopter provides protection from the air, Lwar Kowndalan in Kandahar, 2005]]

From January 2006, a multinational ISAF contingent started to replace US troops in southern Afghanistan. The UK formed the core of the force, along with Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, and Estonia.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4961368.stm |title=UK troops take over Afghan duties |access-date=27 September 2007 |date=1 May 2006 |work=BBC News |archive-date=7 March 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080307170752/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4961368.stm |url-status=live}}{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4984880.stm |title=Canada set for longer Afghan stay |access-date=27 September 2007 |date=16 May 2006 |work=BBC News |archive-date=2 January 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070102063406/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4984880.stm |url-status=live}}{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4983540.stm |title=Australia outlines Afghan force |access-date=27 September 2007 |date=8 May 2006 |work=BBC News |archive-date=11 January 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080111135407/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4983540.stm |url-status=live}}{{cite web |url=http://www.centcom.mil/sites/uscentcom1/CoalitionPages/Denmark.htm |title=Denmark |publisher=centcom.mil |access-date=27 September 2007}} {{dead link|date=April 2017|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}{{cite news |url=http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?F=1221120&C=landwar |title=defensenews.com |access-date=27 September 2007}} {{dead link|date=August 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} In January 2006, NATO's focus in southern Afghanistan was to form Provincial Reconstruction Teams. Local Taliban figures pledged to resist.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/5057154.stm |title=Taleban vow to defeat UK troops |access-date=27 September 2007 |date=7 June 2006 |work=BBC News |archive-date=8 March 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080308080911/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/5057154.stm |url-status=live}} Since Canada wanted to deploy in Kandahar, the UK got Helmand province. Helmand was a center of poppy production, so it seemed a good region for the anti-narcotic focused UK. In hindsight, the UK were a poor choice. Pashtun Helmandis had never forgotten the 1880 Battle of Maiwand with the British, and it proved a source of significant resistance from them.{{Rp|138–142}}

Local intelligence suggested that the Taliban were going to wage a brutal campaign in the summer of 2006. Coalition generals sent this info up the chain of command, but decision-makers ignored warnings. The US was distracted in Iraq, and Secretary of State Rumsfeld was more interested in making the Afghan army affordable than effective. Of the 70,000 soldiers the Afghan army was supposed to have, only 26,000 had been trained and retained.{{Rp|138–142}}

File:Swedish medic in Afghanistan 2006.jpg medic in the Mazar-e Sharif region, 2006]]

Spring and summer action in 2006 by the Coalition included Operation Mountain Thrust, Operation Medusa, a Dutch/Australian offensive, the Battle of Panjwaii, Operation Mountain Fury and Operation Falcon Summit. The Coalition achieved tactical victories and area denial, but the Taliban were not completely defeated.

On 29 May 2006, a US military truck that was part of a convoy in Kabul lost control and plowed into civilian vehicles, killing one person and injuring six. The surrounding crowd got angry and a riot arose, lasting all day ending with 20 dead and 160 injured. When stone-throwing and gunfire had come from a crowd of some 400 men, the US troops had used their weapons "to defend themselves" while leaving the scene, a US military spokesman said. A correspondent for the Financial Times in Kabul suggested that this was the outbreak of "a ground swell of resentment" and "growing hostility to foreigners" that had been growing and building since 2004.{{cite news |title=npr: Truck Accident Sparks Riots in Afghanistan |newspaper=NPR.org |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5437226 |date=29 May 2006 |access-date=12 September 2017 |archive-date=7 March 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070307220511/https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5437226 |url-status=live}}{{cite news |last=Constable |first=Pamela |author-link=Pamela Constable |title=U.S. troops fired at mob after Kabul accident |page=1 |newspaper=The Washington Post |location=Washington |date=1 June 2006 |access-date=12 September 2017 |url=http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2006/jun/01/us-troops-fired-at-mob-after-kabul-accident/ |archive-date=24 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224192043/https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2006/jun/01/us-troops-fired-at-mob-after-kabul-accident/ |url-status=live}}

UK actions in early 2007 included Operation Volcano, Operation Achilles, and Operation Lastay Kulang. The UK Ministry of Defence also announced its intention to bring British troop levels in the country up to 7,700.{{cite web |url=http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/DefencePolicyAndBusiness/1400ExtraUkTroopsToDeployToAfghanistan.htm |title=British Ministry of Defence |access-date=27 September 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070926223315/http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/DefencePolicyAndBusiness/1400ExtraUkTroopsToDeployToAfghanistan.htm |archive-date=26 September 2007}}

In March 2007, the US deployed some 3,500 more troops, though the pace of deployment was slow due to American priorities in Iraq.{{cite news |author=Baker, Peter |date=11 March 2007 |title=Additional Troop Increase Approved |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/10/AR2007031001397.html |access-date=31 May 2008 |newspaper=The Washington Post |page=A11 |archive-date=17 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817093442/https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/10/AR2007031001397.html |url-status=live}}{{cite news |author=Karen DeYoung |author-link=Karen DeYoung |author2=Jonathan Weisman |date=23 July 2008 |title=Obama Shifts the Foreign Policy Debate |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/22/AR2008072202942_2.html?nav=hcmodule&sid=ST2008072203343&pos= |access-date=29 July 2008 |newspaper=The Washington Post |page=A08 |archive-date=8 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201008191509/https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/22/AR2008072202942_2.html?nav=hcmodule&sid=ST2008072203343&pos= |url-status=live}} In the first five months of 2008, the number of US troops in Afghanistan increased by over 80% with a surge of 21,643 more troops, bringing the total from 26,607 in January to 48,250 in June.{{cite web |title=U.S. Forces in Afghanistan |url=https://fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RS22633.pdf |access-date=2 August 2011 |publisher=Research Services Report for Congress |archive-date=28 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210628121513/https://fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RS22633.pdf |url-status=live}}

On 4 March 2007, US Marines killed at least 12 civilians and injured 33 in Shinwar district, Nangarhar,{{Cite journal |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0416/p99s01-duts.html |title=Pentagon inquiry finds US Marine unit killed Afghan civilians |date=16 April 2007 |journal=Christian Science Monitor |access-date=18 May 2022 |archive-date=18 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220518191648/https://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0416/p99s01-duts.html |url-status=live}} in a response to a bomb ambush. The event became known as the "Shinwar massacre."{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/15/world/asia/15afghan.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070506103114/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/15/world/asia/15afghan.html |archive-date=2007-05-06 |url-access=limited |url-status=live |title=Marines' Actions in Afghanistan Called Excessive' Actions in Afghanistan Called Excessive |work=The New York Times |first=Carlotta |last=Gall |date=15 April 2007}} The 120 member Marine unit responsible for the attack were ordered to leave the country because the incident damaged the unit's relations with the local population.{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/23/AR2007032301721.html |title=Marine Unit Is Told To Leave Afghanistan |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=24 March 2007 |access-date=9 April 2010 |archive-date=3 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181003110839/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/23/AR2007032301721.html |url-status=live}}

During the summer, NATO forces achieved tactical victories at the Battle of Chora in Orūzgān, where Dutch and Australian ISAF forces were deployed. The Battle of Musa Qala took place in December. Afghan units were the principal fighting force, supported by British forces.{{cite web |date=7 December 2007 |title="Time is now right" for retaking Musa Qaleh – Browne |url=http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/MilitaryOperations/timeIsNowRightForRetakingMusaQalehBrowne.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071211202642/http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/MilitaryOperations/timeIsNowRightForRetakingMusaQalehBrowne.htm |archive-date=11 December 2007 |access-date=9 December 2007 |work=Defence News |publisher=British Ministry of Defence}} Taliban forces were forced out of the town.

In 2007, after more than 5 years of war, Western officials and analysts estimated the strength of Taliban forces at about 10,000 fighters fielded at any given time. Of that number, only 2,000 to 3,000 were highly motivated, full-time insurgents.{{Cite news |last=Rohde |first=David |date=2007-10-30 |title=Foreign Fighters of Harsher Bent Bolster Taliban |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/30/world/asia/30afghan.html |access-date=2022-11-14 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=9 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211109015947/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/30/world/asia/30afghan.html |url-status=live}} The rest were volunteer units, made up of young Afghans, angered by deaths of Afghan civilians in military airstrikes and American detention of Muslim prisoners who had been held for years without being charged.{{cite news |last1=Rhode |first1=David |date=17 October 2009 |title=Held by the Taliban |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/18/world/asia/18hostage.html?pagewanted=2&scp=1&sq=Rohde&st=cse&_r=0 |access-date=21 June 2017 |work=The New York Times |archive-date=27 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210227113432/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/18/world/asia/18hostage.html?pagewanted=2 |url-status=live}} In 2007, more foreign fighters came into Afghanistan than ever before, according to officials. Approximately 100 to 300 full-time combatants were foreigners, many from Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Chechnya, perhaps Turkey and western China, and other countries. They were reportedly more violent, and uncontrollable, often bringing superior video-production or bomb making expertise.{{cite news |date=30 October 2007 |title=Foreign Fighters of Harsher Bent Bolster Taliban |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/30/world/asia/30afghan.html?n=Top/News/World/Countries%20and%20Territories/Pakistan |access-date=27 September 2018 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=12 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130512204625/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/30/world/asia/30afghan.html?n=Top%2FNews%2FWorld%2FCountries%20and%20Territories%2FPakistan |url-status=live}} By 2010, the Taliban had as many as 25,000 dedicated soldiers, almost as many as before 9/11.O'Hanlon, Michael E."[http://www.brookings.edu/articles/2010/0825_afghanistan_ohanlon.aspx Staying Power: The U.S. Mission in Afghanistan Beyond 2011] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101106033340/http://www.brookings.edu/articles/2010/0825_afghanistan_ohanlon.aspx|date=6 November 2010}}", The Brookings Institution, September/October 2010.

General McChrystal, newly appointed as US commander in Afghanistan, said that the Taliban had gained the upper hand. In a continuation of the Taliban's usual strategy of summer offensives,"[https://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSSP513120070127 Taliban warn of summer offensive] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181024140347/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-afghan-taliban/taliban-warn-of-summer-offensive-idUSSP513120070127 |date=24 October 2018 }}" Reuters. 27 July 2007 the militants aggressively spread their influence into north and west Afghanistan and stepped up their attack in an attempt to disrupt presidential polls.Salahuddin, Sayed and Tait, Paul."[https://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE57A30D20090811 Afghan leader sees peaceful poll, troops ambushed] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090813024947/http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE57A30D20090811 |date=13 August 2009 }}" Reuters. 11 August 2009 He added that the US strategy was to stop their momentum, and focus on protecting and safeguarding Afghan civilians, calling it "hard work."Dreazen, Yochi J. and Spiegel, Peter."[https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB124986154654218153#articleTabs%3Darticle Taliban Now Winning] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210910190411/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB124986154654218153#articleTabs%3Darticle |date=10 September 2021 }}" The Wall Street Journal, 10 August 2009

{{Main|Pakistan's role in the War on Terror|Pakistan–United States skirmishes|Coalition combat operations in Afghanistan in 2009}}

On 13 June 2008, Taliban fighters demonstrated their ongoing strength, liberating all prisoners in Kandahar jail. The operation freed 1200 prisoners, 400 of whom were Taliban, causing a major embarrassment for NATO.{{cite news |date=14 June 2008 |title=Insurgent attack frees hundreds from Kandahar prison |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/insurgent-attack-frees-hundreds-from-kandahar-prison-1.725191 |publisher=CBC News |access-date=12 September 2021 |archive-date=9 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210909044839/https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/insurgent-attack-frees-hundreds-from-kandahar-prison-1.725191 |url-status=live}} By the end of 2008, the Taliban apparently had severed remaining ties with al-Qaeda.{{cite news |author=Nic Robertson |author-link=Nic Robertson |title=Sources: Taliban split with al Qaeda, seek peace |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/10/06/afghan.saudi.talks/?iref=mpstoryview |access-date=9 February 2010 |publisher=CNN |archive-date=5 August 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040805103333/http://www.cnn.com/2001/LAW/02/14/embassy.bombing.02/index.html |url-status=live}} According to senior US military intelligence officials, perhaps fewer than 100 members of al-Qaeda remained in Afghanistan.{{cite news |last=Partlow |first=Joshua |date=11 November 2009 |title=In Afghanistan, Taliban surpasses al-Qaeda |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/10/AR2009111019644.html |access-date=20 September 2018 |newspaper=The Washington Post |archive-date=14 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201114223354/https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/10/AR2009111019644.html |url-status=live}}

In the summer of 2008, President Bush issued an order authorizing raids against militants in Pakistan. Pakistan said it would not allow foreign forces onto its territory and that it would vigorously protect its sovereignty.{{cite news |date=12 September 2008 |title='Another US strike' hits Pakistan |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7611721.stm |access-date=1 December 2011 |work=BBC News |archive-date=15 September 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080915053314/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7611721.stm |url-status=live}} In September, the Pakistan military stated that it had issued orders to "open fire" on US soldiers who crossed the border in pursuit of militant forces.{{cite news |date=16 September 2008 |title=Pakistan: Shoot GIs on cross-border raids |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna26735196 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080922163140/http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26735196 |archive-date=22 September 2008 |access-date=2 October 2008 |publisher=MSNBC.com}}

In September 2008, President Bush announced the withdrawal of over 8,000 from Iraq and a further increase of up to 4,500 in Afghanistan.{{cite news |date=9 September 2008 |title=Bush announces withdrawal of 8,000 troops from Iraq |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/sep/09/iraq.usa |access-date=1 October 2008 |work=The Guardian |archive-date=9 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210909003739/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/sep/09/iraq.usa |url-status=live}} The same month, the UK lost its 100th serviceperson.{{cite news |date=9 June 2008 |title=Brown in tribute to Afghan dead |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7443331.stm |access-date=1 December 2011 |publisher=BBC News |archive-date=6 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210506093428/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7443331.stm |url-status=live}}

On 3 September 2008, US commandos landed by helicopter and attacked three houses close to a known enemy stronghold in Pakistan. Pakistan condemned the attack, calling the incursion "a gross violation of Pakistan's territory."[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/sep/04/pakistan Pakistan reacts with fury after up to 20 die in 'American' attack on its soil] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210909044839/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/sep/04/pakistan |date=9 September 2021 }} The Guardian Retrieved on 12 September 2008{{cite news |date=4 September 2008 |title=Pakistan fury over 'US assault' |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7597529.stm |access-date=1 December 2011 |work=BBC News |archive-date=12 September 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080912163227/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7597529.stm |url-status=live}} On 6 September, in an apparent reaction, Pakistan announced an indefinite disconnection of supply lines to NATO forces.[http://www.thenews.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=17051 Pakistan cuts supply lines to Nato forces] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080912131019/http://www.thenews.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=17051|date=12 September 2008}} Retrieved on 12 September 2008 A further split occurred when Pakistani soldiers fired on NATO aircraft which had crossed the border on 25 September.{{cite news |date=25 September 2008 |title=Pakistan fires on Nato aircraft |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7635893.stm |access-date=1 December 2011 |work=BBC News |archive-date=11 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411024701/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7635893.stm |url-status=live}} However, despite tensions, the US increased the use of remotely piloted drone aircraft in Pakistan's border regions, in particular the Federal Tribal Areas and Balochistan; by 2009, drone attacks were up 183% since 2006.{{cite web |last=Turin |first=Dustin |date=23 March 2009 |title=Can the U.S. Win in Afghanistan? |url=http://www.studentpulse.com/articles/3/can-the-us-win-the-war-in-afghanistan |access-date=22 November 2009 |publisher=Student Pulse |archive-date=16 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816210534/http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/3/can-the-us-win-the-war-in-afghanistan |url-status=live}}

By 2009 there was broad agreement in Afghanistan that the war should end, but how it should happen was a major issue for the candidates of the 2009 Afghan presidential election that re-elected Karzai.{{cite news |last=Gall |first=Carlotta |date=17 August 2009 |title=Peace Talks With Taliban Top Issue in Afghan Vote |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/18/world/asia/18taliban.html |url-access=limited |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090820190859/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/18/world/asia/18taliban.html |archive-date=2009-08-20 |newspaper=The New York Times}} In a televised speech after being elected, Karzai called on "our Taliban brothers to come home and embrace their land"{{cite news |last=Farmer |first=Ben |date=3 November 2009 |title=Hamid Karzai reaches out to 'Taliban brothers' in Afghanistan |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/6495487/Hamid-Karzai-reaches-out-to-Taliban-brothers-in-Afghanistan.html |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/6495487/Hamid-Karzai-reaches-out-to-Taliban-brothers-in-Afghanistan.html |archive-date=10 January 2022 |work=Daily Telegraph |location=London}}{{cbignore}} and laid plans to launch a loya jirga. Efforts were undermined by the Obama administration's increase of American troops in the country.{{cite web |date=10 November 2009 |title=The Karzai questions |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2009-nov-10-oe-hayden10-story.html |website=Los Angeles Times |access-date=12 September 2021 |archive-date=16 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816095632/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2009-nov-10-oe-hayden10-story.html |url-status=live}} Karzai reiterated at a London conference in January 2010 that he wanted to reach out to the Taliban to lay down arms.{{cite news |last1=Landler |first1=Mark |last2=Rubin |first2=Alissa J. |date=28 January 2010 |title=War Plan for Karzai: Reach Out to Taliban |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/29/world/asia/29diplo.html |url-access=limited |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100131230941/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/29/world/asia/29diplo.html |archive-date=2010-01-31 |newspaper=The New York Times}} US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton cautiously supported the proposal.{{cite web |title=Clinton Backs $500M Effort to Court Taliban |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Afghanistan/hillary-clinton-backs-500-million-lure-taliban/story?id=9689681 |website=ABC News |access-date=12 September 2021 |archive-date=16 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816095749/https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Afghanistan/hillary-clinton-backs-500-million-lure-taliban/story?id=9689681 |url-status=live}} File:Afghanistan Troop Strength.svg File: US soldiers in Zabul province.jpg

January 2009 brought a change in American leadership, with the election of President Barack Obama. That month, US soldiers, alongside Afghan Federal Guards, moved into the provinces of Logar, Wardak, and Kunar. The troops were the first wave of an expected surge of reinforcements originally ordered by President Bush and increased by President Obama.{{cite news |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/sns-ap-as-afghan-surge-begins,0,2351712.story |title=Newest US troops in Afghanistan seeing combat in dangerous region south of Kabul |work=Chicago Tribune |author=Jason Straziulo |agency=Associated Press |date=16 February 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090221010650/http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/sns-ap-as-afghan-surge-begins,0,2351712.story |archive-date=21 February 2009 |access-date=29 January 2014}} In mid-February 2009, it was announced that 17,000 additional troops would be deployed in two brigades and support troops; the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade of about 3,500 and the 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, a Stryker brigade with about 4,000.{{cite web |url=http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2009/02/17/america/NA-US-Afghanistan.php |archive-url=https://archive.today/20090605095638/http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2009/02/17/america/NA-US-Afghanistan.php |url-status=dead |archive-date=5 June 2009 |title=Obama OKs 17,000 more US troops for Afghanistan |work=International Herald Tribune |date=29 March 2009 |access-date=2 August 2011}} ISAF commander General David McKiernan had called for as many as 30,000 additional troops, effectively doubling the number of troops.{{cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2009-02-17-afghanistan-forces_N.htm?csp=34 |title=Obama OKs adding Afghanistan forces |work=USA Today |date=16 February 2009 |first1=Susan |last1=Page |access-date=27 May 2010 |archive-date=10 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210410225219/https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/world/2009-02-17-afghanistan-forces_N.htm |url-status=live}} On 23 September, a classified assessment by General McChrystal included his conclusion that a successful counterinsurgency strategy would require 500,000 troops and five years.{{cite news |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/tom-andrews/classified-mcchrystal-rep_b_298528.html |title=Tom Andrews: Classified McChrystal Report: 500,000 Troops Will Be Required Over Five Years in Afghanistan |work=Huffington Post |access-date=9 February 2010 |date=24 September 2009 |archive-date=12 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171012043409/https://www.huffingtonpost.com/tom-andrews/classified-mcchrystal-rep_b_298528.html |url-status=live}}

Pakistani drone strikes against Taliban and al-Qaeda militants increased substantially under President Obama.{{cite news |last=Miller |first=Greg |date=27 December 2011 |title=Under Obama, an emerging global apparatus for drone killing |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/national-security/under-obama-an-emerging-global-apparatus-for-drone-killing/2011/12/13/gIQANPdILP_story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120506233717/http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/national-security/under-obama-an-emerging-global-apparatus-for-drone-killing/2011/12/13/gIQANPdILP_story.html |archive-date=6 May 2012 |access-date=8 May 2012 |newspaper=Washington Post |df=dmy-all}} Some in the media referred to the attacks as a "drone war."{{cite news |last=De Luce |first=Dan |date=20 July 2009 |title=No let-up in US drone war in Pakistan |url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iSx0O9rqfroVdyJRvKzbpSTdhemw |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111215153626/https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iSx0O9rqfroVdyJRvKzbpSTdhemw |archive-date=15 December 2011 |access-date=16 December 2011 |agency=Agence France-Presse}}{{cite web |last1=Bergen |first1=Peter |last2=Tiedemann |first2=Katherine |date=3 June 2009 |title=The Drone War |url=http://www.newamerica.net/publications/articles/2009/drone_war_13672 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111206172655/http://www.newamerica.net/publications/articles/2009/drone_war_13672 |archive-date=6 December 2011 |access-date=16 December 2011 |publisher=New America Foundation}} In August 2009, Baitullah Mehsud, the leader of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan was killed in a drone strike.{{cite book |last=Panetta |first=Leon |url=http://thepenguinpress.com/book/worthy-fights-a-memoir-of-leadership-in-war-and-peace/ |title=Worthy Fights |date=2014 |publisher=Penguin Press |isbn=978-1-59420-596-5 |page=237 |access-date=12 September 2021 |archive-date=30 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170130014635/http://thepenguinpress.com/book/worthy-fights-a-memoir-of-leadership-in-war-and-peace/ |url-status=live}}

June 2009 brought Operation Strike of the Sword in Helmand.Chandrasekaran, Rajiv. "[https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2009/07/11/ST2009071102862.html?sid=ST2009071102862 A Fight for Ordinary Peace] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211104004430/https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2009/07/11/ST2009071102862.html?sid=ST2009071102862 |date=4 November 2021 }}" The Washington Post 12 July 2009 It followed a British-led operation named Operation Panther's Claw in the same region, which was aimed to secure various canal and river crossings to establish a long-term ISAF presence.{{cite web |title=3 SCOTS launch massive air assault |url=http://www.nato.int/isaf/docu/pressreleases/2009/06/pr090623-445.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211104003619/https://www.nato.int/isaf/docu/pressreleases/2009/06/pr090623-445.html |archive-date=4 November 2021 |access-date=30 January 2014 |publisher=UK Ministry of Defence}}

On 4 September 2009, during the Kunduz Province Campaign a devastating NATO air raid was conducted 7 kilometers southwest of Kunduz, where Taliban fighters had hijacked civilian supply trucks, killing up to 179 people, including over 100 civilians.{{cite news |author=Matthias Gebauer |date=6 August 2010 |title=Germany to Pay $500,000 for Civilian Bombing Victims |url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/aftermath-of-an-afghanistan-tragedy-germany-to-pay-500-000-for-civilian-bombing-victims-a-710439.html |access-date=9 August 2010 |work=Der Spiegel |archive-date=26 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210826011456/https://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/aftermath-of-an-afghanistan-tragedy-germany-to-pay-500-000-for-civilian-bombing-victims-a-710439.html |url-status=live}}

File:Snow Storm DVIDS227347.jpg chopper landing at Forward Operating Base Airborne to deliver mail and supplies, 2009]]

After Karzai's alleged win of 54 percent in 2009, which would prevent a runoff, over 400,000 Karzai votes had to be disallowed after accusations of fraud. Some nations criticized the elections as "free but not fair.""[http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2009/09/200991015456247534.html 'Fraud proof' found in Afghan polls] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110209171212/http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2009/09/200991015456247534.html |date=9 February 2011 }}" Al-Jazeera. 11 September 2009{{cite news |author=Sheerin, Jude |date=20 August 2009 |title=As it happened: Afghan election 2009 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8209279.stm |access-date=1 December 2011 |publisher=BBC News |archive-date=17 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817151830/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8209279.stm |url-status=live}} The Taliban's claim that the over 135 violent incidents disrupted elections was largely disputed. However, the media was asked to not report any violent incidents."[http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2009/08/200981821718308671.html Kabul urges polls attacks blackout] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090821111418/http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2009/08/200981821718308671.html |date=21 August 2009 }}" Al-Jazeera. 10 August 2009 In southern Afghanistan where the Taliban held the most power, voter turnout was low and sporadic violence was directed at voters and security personnel.Entous, Adam and Shalizi, Hamid. "[https://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE57E0D620090822 Afghan election fair, but not free: EU] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090826213113/http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE57E0D620090822 |date=26 August 2009 }}" Reuters. 22 August 2009 The Taliban released a video days after the elections, filming on the road between Kabul and Kandahar, stopping vehicles and asking to see their fingers (voters were marked by dipping their fingers in ink so they could not double vote). The video went showed ten men who had voted, listening to a Taliban militant. The Taliban pardoned the voters because of Ramadan.{{cite news |date=24 August 2009 |title=Voters targeted after Afghan polls |url=http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2009/08/200982485130209178.html |access-date=17 July 2012 |publisher=Al Jazeera |archive-date=17 December 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091217061816/http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2009/08/200982485130209178.html |url-status=live}} The Taliban attacked towns with rockets and other indirect fire. Amid claims of widespread fraud, both top contenders, Hamid Karzai and Abdullah Abdullah, claimed victory. Reports suggested that turnout was lower than in the prior election. On 26 November, Karzai made a public plea for direct negotiations with the Taliban leadership, saying there was an "urgent need" for negotiations and made it clear that the Obama administration had opposed such talks. There was no formal US response.{{cite web |title=IPS Inter Press Service |url=http://ipsnews.net/text/news.asp?idnews=49701 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110611055814/http://ipsnews.net/text/news.asp?idnews=49701 |archive-date=11 June 2011 |access-date=9 February 2010 |publisher=Ipsnews.net}}{{cite news |date=5 February 2010 |title=Right after interviewing Karzai |url=http://amanpour.blogs.cnn.com/2009/12/06/right-after-interviewing-karzai/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100213105006/http://amanpour.blogs.cnn.com/2009/12/06/right-after-interviewing-karzai/ |archive-date=13 February 2010 |access-date=9 February 2010 |publisher=CNN}}

In December 2009, an attack on Forward Operating Base Chapman, used by the CIA to gather information and to coordinate drone attacks against Taliban leaders, killed eight working for the CIA.{{cite news |last=Martin |first=David |date=31 December 2009 |title=Afghan Attack Tremendous Setback for CIA |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/afghan-attack-tremendous-setback-for-cia/ |access-date=3 August 2013 |work=CBS News |archive-date=8 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130908125226/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/12/31/eveningnews/main6043127.shtml |url-status=live}}

On 1 December 2009, Obama announced that the US would send 30,000 more troops.{{cite news |last=Baker |first=Peter |date=5 December 2009 |title=How Obama Came to Plan for 'Surge' in Afghanistan |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/06/world/asia/06reconstruct.html |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=16 March 2015 |archive-date=10 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151110044950/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/06/world/asia/06reconstruct.html |url-status=live}} Antiwar organizations in the US responded quickly, and cities throughout the US saw protests on 2 December.{{cite news |url=http://www.fightbacknews.org/2009/12/1/anti-war-leaders-blast-escalation-afghanistan-war |title=Anti-war Leaders Blast Escalation of Afghanistan War |publisher=Fight Back! News |date=1 December 2009 |access-date=3 December 2009 |archive-date=13 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210813113730/http://www.fightbacknews.org/2009/12/1/anti-war-leaders-blast-escalation-afghanistan-war |url-status=live}} Many protesters compared the decision to deploy more troops in Afghanistan to the expansion of the Vietnam War under the Johnson administration."[http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/nation/stories/DN-afghanlbj_06met.ART.State.Edition2.4ba1fa7.html Obama's Afghanistan decision evokes LBJ's 1965 order on Vietnam buildup] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210204130504/https://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/nation/stories/DN-afghanlbj_06met.ART.State.Edition2.4ba1fa7.html |date=4 February 2021 }}"

{{See also|Killing of Osama bin Laden|Coalition combat operations in Afghanistan in 2010}}File:Royal Air Force Regiment in Afghanistan.JPG Regiment stop on a road while conducting a combat mission near Kandahar Airfield, 2010]]

Deployment of additional US troops continued in early 2010, with 9,000 of the planned 30,000 in place before the end of March and another 18,000 expected by June.{{cite news |url=http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2010/03/25/Afghan-troop-numbers-to-eclipse-Iraq-soon/UPI-69781269532547/ |title=Afghan troop numbers to eclipse Iraq soon |publisher=United Press International |date=25 March 2010 |access-date=6 April 2010 |archive-date=3 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210203193225/https://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2010/03/25/Afghan-troop-numbers-to-eclipse-Iraq-soon/UPI-69781269532547/ |url-status=live}} The surge in troops supported a sixfold increase in Special Forces operations.{{cite news |author=Eric Schmitt |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/27/world/asia/27policy.html?_r=2&ref=world |title=Taliban Fighters Appear Blunted in Afghanistan |work=The New York Times |access-date=31 January 2011 |location=Washington |date=26 December 2010 |archive-date=30 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190130111932/https://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/27/world/asia/27policy.html?_r=2&ref=world |url-status=live}} The surge of American personnel that began in late 2009 ended by September 2012.{{cite news |last=Chandrasekaren |first=Rajiv |date=25 September 2015 |title=The Afghan Surge is Over |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2012/09/25/the-afghan-surge-is-over/ |newspaper=Foreign Policy |access-date=16 March 2015 |archive-date=29 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210929173849/https://foreignpolicy.com/2012/09/25/the-afghan-surge-is-over/ |url-status=live}} 700 airstrikes occurred in September 2010 alone versus 257 in all of 2009.{{cite news |author=Adam Levine |url=http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2010/10/15/what-the-numbers-say-about-progress-in-afghanistan/?hpt=T |title=What the numbers say about progress in Afghanistan |work=The Guardian |location=Washington |access-date=31 January 2011 |date=15 October 2010 |archive-date=25 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225122331/https://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2010/10/15/what-the-numbers-say-about-progress-in-afghanistan/?hpt=T |url-status=dead}}

Due to increased use of IEDs by insurgents, the number of injured Coalition soldiers, mainly Americans, significantly increased.Perry, Tom, "U.S. Troops in Afghanistan Suffer More Critical Injuries", Los Angeles Times, 7 April 2011, p. 4. Beginning in May 2010 NATO special forces began to concentrate on operations to capture or kill specific Taliban leaders. As of March 2011, the US military claimed that the effort had resulted in the capture or killing of more than 900 low- to mid-level Taliban commanders.{{cite news |last=Vanden Brook |first=Tom |title=U.S.: Raids have taken out 900 Taliban leaders |url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/world/afghanistan/2011-03-08-taliban08_ST_N.htm |access-date=15 October 2012 |newspaper=USA Today |date=7 March 2011 |archive-date=4 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211104005843/http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/world/afghanistan/2011-03-08-taliban08_ST_N.htm |url-status=live}}Vanden Brook, Tom, "U.S.: Raids Have Taken Out 900 Taliban Leaders", USA Today, 8 March 2011, p. 6. Overall, 2010 saw the most insurgent attacks of any year since the war began, peaking in September at more than 1,500.{{cite news |title=An Uncharacteristically Upbeat General in Afghanistan |work=The New York Times |date=24 January 2011 |url=http://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/01/24/an-uncharacteristically-upbeat-general-in-afghanistan/ |access-date=3 February 2011 |first=Rod |last=Nordland |archive-date=29 January 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110129071114/http://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/01/24/an-uncharacteristically-upbeat-general-in-afghanistan/ |url-status=live}}

In February 2010, Coalition and Afghan forces began highly visible plans for an offensive, codenamed Operation Moshtarak, on a Taliban stronghold near the village of Marjah.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8514397.stm |title=Nato hails Afghanistan operation |date=14 February 2010 |access-date=30 May 2018 |archive-date=11 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210911204741/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8514397.stm |url-status=live}}

The "Peace Jirga" was held in Kabul, attended by 1,600 delegates, in June 2010. However, the Taliban and the Hezb-i Islami Gulbuddin, who were both invited by Karzai as a gesture of goodwill did not attend the conference.{{cite web |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2010/06/04/afghanistans-fluffy-peace-jirga/ |title=Afghanistan's fluffy peace jirga |first=Caroline |last=Wadhams |date=4 June 2010 |access-date=12 September 2021 |archive-date=19 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210819173803/https://foreignpolicy.com/2010/06/04/afghanistans-fluffy-peace-jirga/ |url-status=live}} The Taliban's co-founder and then-second-in-command, Abdul Ghani Baradar, was one of the leading Taliban members who favored talks with the US and Afghan governments. Karzai's administration reportedly held talks with Baradar in February; however, later that month, Baradar was captured in a joint US-Pakistani raid in the city of Karachi in Pakistan. The arrest infuriated Karzai and invoked suspicions that he was seized because the Pakistani intelligence community was opposed to Afghan peace talks.{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/7457861/Hamid-Karzai-held-secret-talks-with-Mullah-Baradar-in-Afghanistan.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/7457861/Hamid-Karzai-held-secret-talks-with-Mullah-Baradar-in-Afghanistan.html |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Hamid Karzai held secret talks with Mullah Baradar in Afghanistan |first=Dean |last=Nelson |date=16 March 2010 |work=Daily Telegraph |location=London}}{{cbignore}}{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-20582286 |title=Profile: Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar |date=21 September 2013 |work=BBC News |access-date=12 September 2021 |archive-date=17 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201217174921/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-20582286 |url-status=live}} Karzai started peace talks with Haqqani-network groups in March.{{cite news |url=http://tvnz.co.nz/world-news/karzai-holds-peace-talks-insurgents-3428064 |agency=Reuters |title=Karzai holds peace talks with insurgents |newspaper=TVNZ |date=22 March 2010 |access-date=6 April 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100426080708/http://tvnz.co.nz/world-news/karzai-holds-peace-talks-insurgents-3428064 |archive-date=26 April 2010}}

In 2010, a mindset change and strategy occurred within the Obama administration, to allow possible political negotiations to solve the war.{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/jul/19/obama-afghanistan-strategy-taliban-negotiate |title=White House shifts Afghanistan strategy towards talks with Taliban |first=Ewen MacAskill Simon |last=Tisdall |date=19 July 2010 |work=The Guardian |location=London |access-date=12 September 2021 |archive-date=16 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816142703/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/jul/19/obama-afghanistan-strategy-taliban-negotiate |url-status=live}} The Taliban themselves had refused to speak to the Afghan government, portraying them as an American "puppet." Sporadic efforts for peace talks between the US and the Taliban occurred afterward, and it was reported in October 2010 that Taliban leadership commanders (the "Quetta Shura") had left their haven in Pakistan and been safely escorted to Kabul by NATO aircraft for talks, with the assurance that NATO staff would not apprehend them.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/20/world/asia/20afghan.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101020043236/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/20/world/asia/20afghan.html |archive-date=2010-10-20 |url-access=limited |url-status=live |title=Taliban Elite, Aided by NATO, Join Talks for Afghan Peace |first=Dexter |last=Filkins |date=19 October 2010 |newspaper=The New York Times}} After the talks concluded, it emerged that the leader of this delegation, who claimed to be Akhtar Mansour, the second-in-command of the Taliban, was actually an imposter who had duped NATO officials.{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/nov/23/fake-taliban-dupes-nato-negotiators |title=Fake Taliban leader 'dupes Nato negotiators' |first=Jon |last=Boone |date=23 November 2010 |work=The Guardian |location=London |access-date=12 September 2021 |archive-date=16 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816142706/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/nov/23/fake-taliban-dupes-nato-negotiators |url-status=live}}

On 25 July 2010, the release of 91,731 classified documents from the WikiLeaks organization was made public. The documents cover US military incident and intelligence reports from January 2004 to December 2009.{{cite news |last=Schmitt |first=Eric |date=25 July 2010 |title=The War Logs – Interactive Feature |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/world/war-logs.html |access-date=28 July 2010 |work=The New York Times |archive-date=2 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180302170715/http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/world/war-logs.html |url-status=live}} Some of these documents included sanitized, and "covered up", accounts of civilian casualties caused by Coalition Forces. The reports included many references to other incidents involving civilian casualties like the Kunduz airstrike and Nangar Khel incident.{{cite news |author=Declan Walsh |date=4 March 2007 |title=Afghanistan war logs: How US marines sanitised record of bloodbath |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/jul/26/afghanistan-war-logs-us-marines |access-date=28 July 2010 |work=The Guardian |location=London |archive-date=31 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210831204439/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/jul/26/afghanistan-war-logs-us-marines |url-status=live}} The leaked documents also contain reports of Pakistan collusion with the Taliban. According to Der Spiegel, "the documents clearly show that the Pakistani intelligence agency Inter-Services Intelligence (usually known as the ISI) is the most important accomplice the Taliban has outside of Afghanistan."{{cite news |last1=Gebauer |first1=Matthias |last2=Goetz |first2=John |last3=Hoyng |first3=Hans |last4=Koelbl |first4=Susanne |last5=Rosenbach |first5=Marcel |last6=Schmitz |first6=Gregor Peter |date=25 July 2010 |title=Explosive Leaks Provide Image of War from Those Fighting It: The Secret Enemy in Pakistan |url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/the-afghanistan-protocol-explosive-leaks-provide-image-of-war-from-those-fighting-it-a-708314.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130510003558/http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/the-afghanistan-protocol-explosive-leaks-provide-image-of-war-from-those-fighting-it-a-708314.html |archive-date=10 May 2013 |access-date=26 July 2010 |newspaper=Der Spiegel}}File:ASLAV in Afghanistan during early 2011.jpg, 2011]]

On 2 May 2011, US officials announced that Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden had been killed in Operation Neptune Spear, conducted by the US Navy SEALs, in Abbottabad, Pakistan.{{cite news |date=2 May 2011 |title=Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden dead – Obama |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-13256676 |access-date=2 May 2011 |work=BBC News |archive-date=4 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150204140706/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-13256676 |url-status=live}} Pakistan came under intense international scrutiny after the raid. The Pakistani government denied that it had sheltered bin Laden, and said it had shared information with the CIA and other intelligence agencies about the compound since 2009.{{cite news |last=Allbritton |first=Chris |author2=Augustine Anthony |date=3 May 2011 |title=Pakistan says had no knowledge of U.S. bin Laden raid |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-binladen-pakistan-statement-idUSTRE74242R20110503 |access-date=7 May 2011 |work=Reuters |archive-date=4 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211104173651/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-binladen-pakistan-statement-idUSTRE74242R20110503 |url-status=live}}

The 2011 Battle of Kandahar was part of an offensive that followed a 30 April announcement that the Taliban would launch their spring offensive.{{cite news |last=Rubin |first=Alissa J. |author-link=Alissa J. Rubin |date=1 May 2011 |title=Taliban Say Offensive Will Begin Sunday |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/01/world/asia/01afghan.html |url-access=limited |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110503085058/http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/01/world/asia/01afghan.html |archive-date=2011-05-03 |access-date=29 January 2014 |work=The New York Times}} On 7 May, the Taliban launched a major offensive on government buildings in Kandahar.{{cite news |date=7 May 2011 |title=Taliban Attack Afghan Government Offices in South |url=https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2011/05/07/world/asia/AP-AS-Afghanistan.html |access-date=7 May 2011 |work=The New York Times |agency=Associated Press |archive-date=30 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190130172014/https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2011/05/07/world/asia/AP-AS-Afghanistan.html |url-status=live}} The BBC called it "the worst attack in Kandahar province since the fall of the Taliban government, and an embarrassment for the [Afghan] government."{{cite news |date=8 May 2011 |title=Afghanistan: Taliban's Kandahar raid into second day |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-13325855 |access-date=8 May 2011 |work=BBC |archive-date=11 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111202858/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-13325855 |url-status=live}}

Karzai confirmed in June 2011 that secret talks were taking place between the US and the Taliban,{{cite web |last=Farmer |first=Ben |date=18 June 2011 |title=America has opened peace talks with Taliban, says Afghan President Hamid Karzai |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/8584045/America-has-opened-peace-talks-with-Taliban-says-Afghan-President-Hamid-Karzai.html |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/8584045/America-has-opened-peace-talks-with-Taliban-says-Afghan-President-Hamid-Karzai.html |archive-date=10 January 2022 |work=Daily Telegraph |location=London}}{{cbignore}} but these collapsed by August.{{cite web |last=Nelson |first=Dean |date=10 August 2011 |title=Secret peace talks between US and Taliban collapse over leaks |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/8693247/Secret-peace-talks-between-US-and-Taliban-collapse-over-leaks.html |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/8693247/Secret-peace-talks-between-US-and-Taliban-collapse-over-leaks.html |archive-date=10 January 2022 |work=Daily Telegraph |location=London}}{{cbignore}}

On 22 June 2011, President Obama announced that 10,000 troops would be withdrawn by the end of the year, and an additional 23,000 troops would return by the summer of 2012. After the withdrawal of 10,000 US troops, 80,000 remained.{{cite news |last1=Landler |first1=Mark |last2=Cooper |first2=Helene |date=22 June 2011 |title=Obama Will Speed Pullout From War in Afghanistan |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/23/world/asia/23prexy.html?hp |work=The New York Times |access-date=12 September 2021 |archive-date=5 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210205081439/https://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/23/world/asia/23prexy.html?hp |url-status=live}} In 2011 Canada withdrew its combat troops, transitioning to a training role. Following suit, other NATO countries announced troop reductions. Taliban attacks continued at the same rate as they did in 2011, around 28,000 in 2013.* {{cite news |author=Robert Burns |date=26 February 2013 |title=APNEWSBREAK: Taliban Attacks Not Down After All |url=http://bigstory.ap.org/article/ap-newsbreak-drop-taliban-attacks-incorrect |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130302104937/http://bigstory.ap.org/article/ap-newsbreak-drop-taliban-attacks-incorrect |archive-date=2 March 2013 |access-date=4 March 2013 |agency=Associated Press}}

• {{cite news |date=26 February 2013 |title=Nato admits 'error' in claim of fall in Taliban attacks |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-21594010 |access-date=4 March 2013 |work=BBC News |archive-date=17 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817011913/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-21594010 |url-status=live}}
• {{cite news |author=Jennifer Griffin |author2=Justin Fishel |date=26 February 2013 |title=US military acknowledges reported drop in Taliban attacks was incorrect |url=https://www.foxnews.com/politics/us-military-acknowledges-reported-drop-in-taliban-attacks-was-incorrect/ |access-date=4 March 2013 |newspaper=Fox News |agency=Associated Press |archive-date=24 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924142542/http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/02/26/us-military-report-showing-drop-in-taliban-attacks-found-to-be-incorrect/ |url-status=live}}
• {{cite news |author=Phil Stewart |date=26 February 2013 |title=Afghan insurgent attacks misreported, did not fall in 2012: NATO |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-afghanistan-idUSBRE91P14F20130226 |access-date=4 March 2013 |work=Reuters |archive-date=4 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211104003948/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-afghanistan-idUSBRE91P14F20130226 |url-status=live}}
• {{cite magazine |last1=Ackerman |first1=Spencer |date=26 February 2013 |title='Data-Entry Error' Led Military to Falsely Claim Taliban Attacks Are Down |url=https://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2013/02/taliban-attacks/ |access-date=4 March 2013 |magazine=Wired |archive-date=6 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130706084310/http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2013/02/taliban-attacks |url-status=live}}File: Bundeswehr in Afghanistan, August 2011.jpg soldier, part of ISAF's Regional Command North at Camp Marmal, 2011]]

Tensions between Pakistan and the US were heightened in late September 2011 after several Pakistan Frontier Corps soldiers were killed and wounded. The troops were attacked by a US piloted aircraft that was pursuing Taliban forces near the Afghan-Pakistan border, but for unknown reasons opened fire on two Pakistan border posts. In retaliation for the strike, Pakistan closed the Torkham ground border crossing to NATO supply convoys for an unspecified period. This incident followed the release of a video allegedly showing uniformed Pakistan soldiers executing unarmed civilians.{{cite news |last1=Perlez |first1=Jane |last2=Cooper |first2=Helene |date=30 September 2010 |title=Signaling Tensions, Pakistan Shuts NATO Route |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/01/world/asia/01peshawar.html?_r=1&hp |work=The New York Times |access-date=12 September 2021 |archive-date=25 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125021843/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/01/world/asia/01peshawar.html?_r=1 |url-status=live}} After the Torkham border closing, Pakistani Taliban attacked NATO convoys, killing several drivers and destroying around 100 tankers.{{cite web |title=Taliban ramp up attacks against NATO |url=https://vancouversun.com/news/Taliban+ramp+attacks+against+NATO/3636093/story.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101013214813/http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Taliban+ramp+attacks+against+NATO/3636093/story.html |archive-date=13 October 2010 |access-date=7 October 2010}} ISAF forces skirmished Pakistan's armed forces on 26 November, killing 24 Pakistani soldiers. Each side claimed the other shot first. Pakistan blocked NATO supply lines and ordered Americans to leave Shamsi Airfield.{{cite news |date=29 November 2011 |title=Nato attack can have grave consequences: DG ISPR |url=http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=10610&Cat=13 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111129172045/http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=10610&Cat=13 |archive-date=29 November 2011 |work=The News International}}{{cite web |last=Islam |first=Nazarul |date=27 November 2011 |title=NATO 'Regrets' Pakistan Strike |url=http://newsweekpakistan.com/scope/612 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120426005053/http://newsweekpakistan.com/scope/612 |archive-date=26 April 2012 |access-date=27 November 2011 |work=Newsweek Pakistan}}

{{See also|U.S.–Afghanistan Strategic Partnership Agreement}}File:U.S. Soldiers walk by two Afghan boys while performing a presence patrol through the snow-covered streets of Gardez, Paktia province, Afghanistan, Feb 120216-A-ZU930-005.jpg, 2012]] Beginning in January 2012, incidents involving US troops{{cite news |title=U.S. Soldiers Pose With Bodies of Suicide Bombers in Afghanistan |agency=Reuters |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/18/us-soldiers-suicide-bomber-photo_n_1433785.html |work=The Huffington Post |access-date=7 May 2012 |date=18 April 2012 |first=Eline |last=Gordts |archive-date=12 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171012043411/https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/18/us-soldiers-suicide-bomber-photo_n_1433785.html |url-status=live}}{{cite news |title=Obama calls for Afghan body abuse punishment |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-17764485 |publisher=BBC |access-date=6 May 2012 |date=18 April 2012 |archive-date=17 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817042041/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-17764485 |url-status=live}}{{cite news |title=Photos just latest issue hounding U.S. military in Afghanistan |url=http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2012/04/18/photos-just-latest-issue-hounding-u-s-military-in-afghanistan/ |publisher=CNN |access-date=6 May 2012 |date=18 April 2012 |archive-date=24 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210524145958/https://news.blogs.cnn.com/2012/04/18/photos-just-latest-issue-hounding-u-s-military-in-afghanistan/ |url-status=dead}}{{cite news |last=Fantz |first=Ashley |title=How will leaked photos impact U.S. mission in Afghanistan? |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2012/04/18/world/afghanistan-voices/index.html?iid=article_sidebar |publisher=CNN |access-date=6 May 2012 |date=19 April 2012 |archive-date=27 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180127004551/http://edition.cnn.com/2012/04/18/world/afghanistan-voices/index.html?iid=article_sidebar |url-status=live}} occurred that were described by The Sydney Morning Herald as "a series of damaging incidents and disclosures involving US troops in Afghanistan."{{cite news |last=Wright |first=Jessica |title=Leaders condemn US troops in body-parts photos |url=https://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/leaders-condemn-us-troops-in-bodyparts-photos-20120419-1x8av.html |access-date=6 May 2012 |newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=19 April 2012 |archive-date=20 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130120185317/http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/leaders-condemn-us-troops-in-bodyparts-photos-20120419-1x8av.html |url-status=live}} These incidents created fractures in the partnership between Afghanistan and ISAF,{{cite news |last=Sommerville |first=Quentin |title=Dismantling US bases as the Taliban fight on |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-17769678 |publisher=BBC |access-date=6 May 2012 |date=19 April 2012 |archive-date=4 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210204235151/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-17769678 |url-status=live}} raised the question whether discipline within US troops was breaking down,{{cite news |title=Images of G.I.'s and Remains Fuel Fears of Ebbing Discipline |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/19/world/asia/us-condemns-photo-of-soldiers-posing-with-body-parts.html?ref=asia |access-date=6 May 2012 |newspaper=The New York Times |date=18 April 2012 |author=Thom Shanker |author2=Graham Bowley |archive-date=30 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190130110456/https://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/19/world/asia/us-condemns-photo-of-soldiers-posing-with-body-parts.html?ref=asia |url-status=live}} undermined "the image of foreign forces in a country where there is already deep resentment owing to civilian deaths and a perception among many Afghans that US troops lack respect for Afghan culture and people"{{cite news |title='Bye-bye, Miss American Pie' – then US helicopter appears to fire on Afghans |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/jul/06/bye-bye-american-pie-afghanistan |access-date=10 September 2012 |newspaper=The Guardian |date=6 July 2012 |author=Emma Graham-Harrison |location=London |archive-date=11 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210911204741/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/jul/06/bye-bye-american-pie-afghanistan |url-status=live}} and strained the relations between Afghanistan and the United States.{{cite news |title=Photos of Soldiers Posing With Body Parts Add Strain to a Taxed Relationship |url=http://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/04/18/photos-of-soldiers-posing-with-body-parts-add-strain-to-a-taxed-relationship/?ref=asia |newspaper=The New York Times |date=18 April 2012 |access-date=29 January 2014 |archive-date=19 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140219115418/http://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/04/18/photos-of-soldiers-posing-with-body-parts-add-strain-to-a-taxed-relationship/?ref=asia |url-status=live}} Besides an incident involving US troops who posed with body parts of dead insurgents and a video apparently showing a US helicopter crew singing "bye-bye Miss American Pie" before blasting a group of Afghan men with a Hellfire missile{{cite news |title=US Helicopter Pilot Sings 'American Pie' as Missile Blows up 'Innocent Afghan Farmer' [VIDEO] |url=http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/articles/360264/20120706/pilots-sings-bye-miss-american-pie-missile.htm |access-date=10 September 2012 |newspaper=International Business Times |date=6 July 2012 |author=Anissa Haddadi |archive-date=28 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130728084556/http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/articles/360264/20120706/pilots-sings-bye-miss-american-pie-missile.htm |url-status=live}} these "high-profile US military incidents in Afghanistan" also included the 2012 Afghanistan Quran burning protests and the Panjwai shooting spree.File:Flickr - The U.S. Army - Black Hawk boarding (1).jpg in Nari District, near the Pakistani border, 2012]]

Karzai visited the US in January 2012. At the time, the US Government stated its openness to withdrawing all of its troops by the end of 2014.{{cite news |author1=Mark Landler |author2=Michael R. Gordon |name-list-style=amp |date=8 January 2012 |title=U.S. Is Open to Withdraw Afghan Force After 2014 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/09/world/asia/us-is-open-to-withdraw-afghan-force-after-2014.html |url-access=limited |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130109080042/http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/09/world/asia/us-is-open-to-withdraw-afghan-force-after-2014.html |archive-date=2013-01-09 |access-date=12 January 2013 |newspaper=The New York Times}} On 11 January 2012, Karzai and Obama agreed to transfer combat operations from NATO to Afghan forces by spring 2013 rather than summer 2013.{{cite news |date=12 January 2013 |title=The Afghan War's Last Chapter? |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/12/opinion/is-this-the-afghan-wars-last-chapter.html?_r=3& |access-date=12 January 2013 |newspaper=The New York Times |archive-date=4 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211104003830/https://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/12/opinion/is-this-the-afghan-wars-last-chapter.html?_r=3& |url-status=live}}{{cite news |date=12 January 2013 |title=Obama, Karzai agree to accelerate military transition |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2013/01/11/us/obama-karzai-meeting/?hpt=hp_t1 |access-date=12 January 2013 |publisher=CNN |archive-date=19 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019163110/http://edition.cnn.com/2013/01/11/us/obama-karzai-meeting/?hpt=hp_t1 |url-status=live}} "What's going to happen this spring is that Afghans will be in the lead throughout the country", Obama said. "They [ISAF forces] will still be fighting alongside Afghan troops...we will be in a training, assisting, advising role." He also stated the reason of the withdrawals that "We achieved our central goal, or have come very close...which is to de-capacitate al-Qaeda" and making sure that "they can't attack us again."{{cite news |author1=Scott Wilson |author2=David Nakamur |name-list-style=amp |date=11 January 2013 |title=Obama announces reduced U.S. role in Afghanistan starting this spring |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/karzai-meets-obama-to-discuss-us-drawdown-in-afghanistan/2013/01/11/b50c72ec-5c03-11e2-9fa9-5fbdc9530eb9_story.html?hpid=z1 |access-date=12 January 2013 |newspaper=The Washington Post |archive-date=4 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211104003714/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/karzai-meets-obama-to-discuss-us-drawdown-in-afghanistan/2013/01/11/b50c72ec-5c03-11e2-9fa9-5fbdc9530eb9_story.html?hpid=z1 |url-status=live}} He added that any US mission beyond 2014 would focus solely on counterterrorism operations and training.{{cite news |author1=Christi Parsons |author2=Kathleen Hennessey |name-list-style=amp |date=11 January 2013 |title=Obama moves up deadline for Afghans to take lead security role |url=https://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-obama-karzai-afghanistan-20130111,0,7048110.story |access-date=12 January 2013 |newspaper=The Los Angeles Times |archive-date=1 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130501040650/http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-obama-karzai-afghanistan-20130111,0,7048110.story |url-status=live}}

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In 2012 the leaders of NATO-member countries endorsed an exit strategy during the NATO Summit. ISAF Forces would transfer command of all combat missions to Afghan forces by the middle of 2013,{{cite news |date=21 May 2012 |title=NATO sets "irreversible" but risky course to end Afghan war |url=http://ca.reuters.com/article/topNews/idCABRE84J02C20120521?sp=true |access-date=22 May 2012 |work=Reuters |archive-date=3 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303220614/http://ca.reuters.com/article/topNews/idCABRE84J02C20120521?sp=true |url-status=dead}} while shifting from combat to advising, training and assisting Afghan security forces.{{cite web |author=NATO |author-link=NATO |date=21 May 2012 |title=Chicago NATO Summit 2012 Declaration |url=http://www.defencetalk.com/chicago-nato-summit-2012-declaration-42672/ |access-date=20 June 2012 |publisher=Defence Talk – Global Defense, Aerospace & Military Portal |archive-date=14 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210314185719/https://www.defencetalk.com/chicago-nato-summit-2012-declaration-42672/ |url-status=live}}{{cite news |author1=Scott Wilson |author2=Karen DeYoung |name-list-style=amp |date=21 May 2012 |title=NATO leaders agree on framework to wind down Afghan mission |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/obama-other-nato-leaders-begin-crucial-summit-on-afghanistan/2012/05/21/gIQArWJYfU_story.html |access-date=22 May 2012 |newspaper=The Washington Post |archive-date=4 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211104074602/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/obama-other-nato-leaders-begin-crucial-summit-on-afghanistan/2012/05/21/gIQArWJYfU_story.html |url-status=live}} Most of the 130,000 ISAF troops would depart by the end of December 2014. A new NATO mission would then assume the support role.{{cite news |author1=Elise Labott |author2=Mike Mount |name-list-style=amp |date=22 May 2012 |title=NATO accepts Obama timetable to end war in Afghanistan by 2014 |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2012/05/21/us/nato-summit/index.html?hpt=hp_t3 |access-date=22 May 2012 |publisher=CNN |archive-date=27 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180127083920/http://edition.cnn.com/2012/05/21/us/nato-summit/index.html?hpt=hp_t3 |url-status=live}}

Further attempts to resume talks were canceled in March 2012,{{cite news |last1=Nordland |first1=Rod |last2=Bumiller |first2=Elisabeth |last3=Rosenberg |first3=Matthew |date=15 March 2012 |title=Karzai Wants U.S. Troops Confined to Bases; Taliban Suspend Peace Talks |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/16/world/asia/taliban-call-off-talks-as-karzai-urges-faster-us-transition.html |url-access=limited |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120315173400/http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/16/world/asia/taliban-call-off-talks-as-karzai-urges-faster-us-transition.html |archive-date=2012-03-15 |newspaper=The New York Times}} and June 2013 following a dispute between the Afghan government and the Taliban regarding the latter's opening of a political office in Qatar. President Karzai accused the Taliban of portraying themselves as a government in exile.{{cite web |date=20 June 2013 |title=US-Taliban Afghanistan peace talks in Qatar cancelled |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jun/20/afghanistan-talks-taliban-qatar-cancelled |work=The Guardian |location=London |access-date=12 September 2021 |archive-date=16 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816160815/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jun/20/afghanistan-talks-taliban-qatar-cancelled |url-status=live}}

On 2 May 2012, Presidents Karzai and Obama signed a strategic partnership agreement between the two countries, after the US president had arrived unannounced in Kabul.{{cite news |last=Landler |first=Mark |title=Obama Signs Pact in Kabul, Turning Page in Afghan War |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/02/world/asia/obama-lands-in-kabul-on-unannounced-visit.html?_r=2&ref=barackobama |access-date=4 May 2012 |newspaper=The New York Times |date=1 May 2012 |archive-date=8 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308215646/https://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/02/world/asia/obama-lands-in-kabul-on-unannounced-visit.html?_r=2 |url-status=live}} On 7 July, as part of the agreement, the US designated Afghanistan a major non-NATO ally after Karzai and Clinton met in Kabul.{{cite news |title=U.S. designates Afghanistan a major ally, creates defense ties |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2012/07/07/world/asia/us-afghanistan-ally-status/index.html?hpt=wo_c2 |publisher=CNN |access-date=8 July 2012 |date=7 July 2012 |archive-date=12 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171012070933/http://edition.cnn.com/2012/07/07/world/asia/us-afghanistan-ally-status/index.html?hpt=wo_c2 |url-status=live}} Both leaders agreed that the United States would transfer Afghan prisoners and prisons to the Afghan government and withdraw troops from Afghan villages in spring 2013.{{cite news |title=US troops will end 'most' Afghanistan combat this spring |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-20993047 |publisher=BBC News US & Canada |access-date=12 January 2013 |date=11 January 2012 |archive-date=22 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210822175703/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-20993047 |url-status=live}}{{cite news |title=Obama Accelerates Transition of Security to Afghans |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/12/world/asia/us-can-speed-afghan-exit-obama-says.html?hp |access-date=12 January 2013 |newspaper=The New York Times |date=11 January 2013 |author1=Mark Landler |author2=Michael R. Gordon |name-list-style=amp |archive-date=4 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211104004042/https://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/12/world/asia/us-can-speed-afghan-exit-obama-says.html?hp |url-status=live}}

On 18 June 2013 the transfer of security responsibilities from NATO to Afghan forces was completed.{{cite news |title=Karzai announces Afghan security handover |url=http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/afp/130618/karzai-announces-afghan-security-handover |agency=Agence France-Presse |work=Global Post |access-date=23 June 2013 |date=18 June 2013 |archive-date=22 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130622194843/http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/afp/130618/karzai-announces-afghan-security-handover |url-status=live}} ISAF remained slated to end its mission by the end of 2014.{{cite news |last=Hodge |first=Nathan |title=Blast Mars Day of Security Handover in Kabul |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887323566804578552593026745674 |access-date=23 June 2013 |newspaper=The Wall Street Journal |date=18 June 2013 |archive-date=4 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211104003748/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887323566804578552593026745674 |url-status=live}} Some 100,000 ISAF forces remained in the country.{{cite news |title=Deadly blast marks Afghan security handover |url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia/2013/06/20136184484852774.html |work=Al Jazeera English |access-date=23 June 2013 |date=18 June 2013 |archive-date=15 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190915112320/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia/2013/06/20136184484852774.html |url-status=live}}

{{See also|Operation Freedom's Sentinel}}File:Presentation of the Resolute Support Colors.jpg

The UK and the US officially ended their combat operation in Afghanistan on 26 October 2014. The UK handed over its last base in Afghanistan, Camp Bastion, and the US handed over its last base, Camp Leatherneck, to Afghan forces.*{{cite news |last1=Syal |first1=Ryan |title=UK troops hand over Camp Bastion to Afghan forces, ending 13-year campaign |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/oct/26/uk-troops-camp-bastion-afghan-forces-13-years-helmand |access-date=26 October 2014 |work=The Guardian |date=26 October 2014 |archive-date=11 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210911204750/https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/oct/26/uk-troops-camp-bastion-afghan-forces-13-years-helmand |url-status=live}}

• {{cite news |first1=Kay |last1=Johnson |first2=Raissa |last2=Kasolowsky |first3=Michael |last3=Perry |first4=Kevin |last4=Liffey |title=Britain ends combat role in Afghanistan, last US Marines hand over base |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-afghanistan-troopwithdrawal-idUSKBN0IF06I20141026 |access-date=26 October 2014 |publisher=Reuters |archive-date=5 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210205162031/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-afghanistan-troopwithdrawal-idUSKBN0IF06I20141026 |url-status=live}}
• {{cite news |last1=Loyn |first1=David |title=What have British troops achieved in Afghanistan? |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-29761100 |access-date=26 October 2014 |publisher=BBC News Asia |date=26 October 2014 |archive-date=4 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211104004646/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-29761100 |url-status=live}} Around 500 UK troops remained in "non-combat" roles.{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/oct/27/uk-keep-450-troops-afghanistan-2016-michael-fallon-taliban |title=UK to keep 450 troops stationed in Afghanistan through 2016 |last=Mason |first=Rowena |date=27 October 2015 |work=The Guardian |access-date=2 July 2017 |archive-date=11 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210911204743/https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/oct/27/uk-keep-450-troops-afghanistan-2016-michael-fallon-taliban |url-status=live}}{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jul/09/uk-afghanistan-troops-increase-david-cameron |title=UK to increase troops in Afghanistan from 450 to 500 |last=Mason |first=Rowena |date=8 July 2016 |work=The Guardian |access-date=2 July 2017 |archive-date=7 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170207151415/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jul/09/uk-afghanistan-troops-increase-david-cameron |url-status=live}} On 28 December, NATO officially ended combat operations in a ceremony held in Kabul.{{cite news |title=U.S. formally ends the war in Afghanistan |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/america-formally-ends-the-war-in-afghanistan/ |access-date=28 December 2014 |agency=Associated Press |issue=online |publisher=CBA News |date=28 December 2014 |archive-date=28 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141228152651/http://www.cbsnews.com/news/america-formally-ends-the-war-in-afghanistan/ |url-status=live}} Continued operations by US forces within Afghanistan were under Operation Freedom's Sentinel;*{{cite web |title=Resolute Support |url=http://www.afghanwarnews.info/resolute-support.htm |website=Afghan War News |access-date=7 February 2015 |archive-date=5 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210205183345/https://afghanwarnews.info/resolute-support.htm |url-status=live}}
• {{cite news |last=Lamothe |first=Dan |date=29 December 2014 |title=Meet Operation Freedom's Sentinel, the Pentagon's new mission in Afghanistan |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2014/12/29/meet-operation-freedoms-sentinel-the-pentagons-new-mission-in-afghanistan/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=2 January 2015 |archive-date=20 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171020025630/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2014/12/29/meet-operation-freedoms-sentinel-the-pentagons-new-mission-in-afghanistan/ |url-status=live}} and the new NATO mission was Operation Resolute Support.*{{cite news |author= |title=Afghanistan marks takeover of security responsibility from NATO |url=http://www.dw.de/afghanistan-marks-takeover-of-security-responsibility-from-nato/a-18166142 |newspaper=Deutsche Welle |date=1 January 2015 |access-date=4 January 2015 |archive-date=7 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150407003356/http://www.dw.de/afghanistan-marks-takeover-of-security-responsibility-from-nato/a-18166142 |url-status=live}}
• {{cite news |author= |agency=Reuters |title=18 Suspected insurgents slain in NATO airstrike in Afghanistan |url=http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2015/01/03/18-suspected-insurgents-slain-in-nato-airstrike-in-afghanistan/ |publisher=Fox News Latino |date=3 January 2015 |access-date=4 January 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150105023702/http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2015/01/03/18-suspected-insurgents-slain-in-nato-airstrike-in-afghanistan/ |archive-date=5 January 2015 |df=dmy-all}}
• {{cite news |author= |title=Afghans Take Over Country's Security |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/afghans-assume-responsibility-for-countrys-security/2581712.html |newspaper=Voice of America |date=1 January 2015 |access-date=6 January 2015 |archive-date=5 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305135101/http://www.voanews.com/content/afghans-assume-responsibility-for-countrys-security/2581712.html |url-status=live}}

The withdrawal of troops did not mean the withdrawal of military presence. As US troops withdrew from Afghanistan, they were replaced by private security companies hired by the United States government and the United Nations. Many of these private security companies (also termed military contractors) consisted of ex-Coalition military personnel. This allowed the US and British to continue to be involved in ground actions without the requirement to station their own forces.{{cite news |title=Afghan interpreter hoping for asylum gets little help from those he worked for |last1=LaPorta |first1=James |url=http://www.jdnews.com/news/20151128/afghan-interpreter-hoping-for-asylum-gets-little-help-from-those-he-worked-for |access-date=24 November 2016 |work=Jacksonville Daily News |date=28 November 2015 |archive-date=11 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210911204749/https://www.jdnews.com/news/20151128/afghan-interpreter-hoping-for-asylum-gets-little-help-from-those-he-worked-for |url-status=live}}

The Taliban began a resurgence due to several factors. The withdrawal of most foreign forces from Afghanistan reduced the risk the Taliban faced of being bombed and raided. In June 2014, the Pakistani military's Operation Zarb-e-Azb, launched in the North Waziristan tribal area, dislodged thousands of mainly Uzbek, Arab and Pakistani militants, who flooded into Afghanistan and swelled the Taliban's ranks. The group was further emboldened by the comparative lack of interest from the international community, as attention was given to other world crises, such as Syria, Iraq, or Ukraine. Afghan security forces lacked, among other things, air power and reconnaissance. The political infighting in the central government in Kabul, and the apparent weakness in governance at different levels, were exploited by the Taliban.{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-35169478 |title=Why are the Taliban resurgent in Afghanistan? |publisher=BBC |date=5 January 2016 |access-date=12 September 2021 |archive-date=26 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181126120513/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-35169478 |url-status=live}} The Taliban expanded governance in the areas under their control, attempting to build local-level legitimacy.{{cite book |last1=Weigand |first1=Florian |title=Waiting for Dignity: Legitimacy and Authority in Afghanistan |date=2022 |publisher=Columbia University Press |location=New York |isbn=9780231200493 |url=https://cup.columbia.edu/book/waiting-for-dignity/9780231200493}} Their governance strategy rested in particular on the provision of justice, which was often viewed as less corrupt than the courts of the government.{{cite journal |last1=Weigand |first1=Florian |title=Afghanistan's Taliban–legitimate jihadists or coercive extremists? |journal=Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding |date=2017 |volume=11 |issue=3 |pages=359–381 |doi=10.1080/17502977.2017.1353755 |s2cid=149421418 |doi-access=free}}{{cite journal |last1=Jackson and Weigand |title=Rebel rule of law: Taliban courts in the west and north-west of Afghanistan |journal=ODI Briefing Note |date=2020 |url=https://cdn.odi.org/media/documents/Rebel_rule_of_law_Taliban_courts_in_the_west_and_north-west_of_Afghanistan.pdf |access-date=19 May 2023 |archive-date=24 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230524155239/https://cdn.odi.org/media/documents/Rebel_rule_of_law_Taliban_courts_in_the_west_and_north-west_of_Afghanistan.pdf |url-status=live}}

Heavy fighting occurred in Kunduz Province,{{cite web |date=30 April 2015 |title=Afghan forces struggle to drive back Taliban from besieged city |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-afghanistan-offensive-idUSKBN0NL1M920150430 |publisher=Reuters |access-date=12 September 2021 |archive-date=11 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210911205909/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-afghanistan-offensive-idUSKBN0NL1M920150430 |url-status=live}}{{cite web |date=27 April 2015 |title=Heavy fighting as Taliban attack northern Afghan city |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-afghanistan-war-idUSKBN0NI0YA20150427 |publisher=Reuters |access-date=12 September 2021 |archive-date=4 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211104005829/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-afghanistan-war-idUSKBN0NI0YA20150427 |url-status=live}} which was the site of clashes from 2009 onwards. In May 2015, flights into the northern city of Kunduz were suspended due to weeks of clashes between the Afghan security forces and the Taliban outside the city.{{cite web |date=7 May 2015 |title=Flights to besieged Afghan city cancelled as Taliban, army clash |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/afghanistan-war-idUSKBN0NS1TL20150507 |publisher=Reuters |access-date=12 September 2021 |archive-date=11 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210911215323/https://www.reuters.com/article/afghanistan-war-idUSKBN0NS1TL20150507 |url-status=live}} The intensifying conflict in the Northern Char Dara District within the Kunduz province led the Afghan government to enlist local militia fighters to bolster opposition to the Taliban insurgency.{{cite web |date=22 May 2015 |title=INSIGHT – Stretched Afghan army falls back on militias to help defend Kunduz |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/afghanistan-militias-idUSKBN0O70XE20150522 |publisher=Reuters |access-date=12 September 2021 |archive-date=11 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210911205903/https://www.reuters.com/article/afghanistan-militias-idUSKBN0O70XE20150522 |url-status=live}} In June, the Taliban intensified attacks around Kunduz city as part of a major offensive in an attempt to capture it;{{cite news |date=21 June 2015 |title=Afghans counter Taliban offensive in northern Kunduz province |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-33215948 |work=BBC News |access-date=12 September 2021 |archive-date=11 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210911211151/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-33215948 |url-status=live}}{{cite news |date=21 June 2015 |title=Taliban and Afghan Government Dispute Status of Kunduz |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/22/world/asia/taliban-and-afghan-government-dispute-status-of-kunduz.html?_r=0 |work=The New York Times |access-date=12 September 2021 |archive-date=23 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210423141309/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/22/world/asia/taliban-and-afghan-government-dispute-status-of-kunduz.html?_r=0 |url-status=live}}{{cite web |date=21 June 2015 |title=Afghanistan: Taliban advance on key northern city |url=https://www.smh.com.au/world/afghanistan-taliban-advance-on-key-northern-city-20150621-ghtu5f.html |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |access-date=12 September 2021 |archive-date=4 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211104004439/https://www.smh.com.au/world/afghanistan-taliban-advance-on-key-northern-city-20150621-ghtu5f.html |url-status=live}} tens of thousands of inhabitants were displaced internally. The government recaptured the Char Dara district after roughly a month of fighting.{{cite web |date=23 June 2015 |title=Afghan forces recapture key district from Taliban |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-afghanistan-taliban-idUSKBN0P30OA20150623 |publisher=Reuters |access-date=12 September 2021 |archive-date=11 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210911215259/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-afghanistan-taliban-idUSKBN0P30OA20150623 |url-status=live}}

In late September, Taliban forces launched an attack on Kunduz city, seizing several outlying villages and entering the city. The Taliban stormed the regional hospital and clashed with security forces at the nearby university. The fighting saw the Taliban attack from four different districts: Char Dara to the west, Aliabad to the southwest, Khanabad to the east, and Imam Saheb to the north.{{cite web |author=Sune Engel Rasmussen |date=28 September 2015 |title=Taliban attempt to capture key Afghan city |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/28/taliban-attempt-to-invade-key-afghan-city-kunduz |access-date=28 September 2015 |work=The Guardian |archive-date=20 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210820145828/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/28/taliban-attempt-to-invade-key-afghan-city-kunduz |url-status=live}}{{cite news |last1=Hamdard |first1=Feroz Sultani |date=28 September 2015 |title=Afghan Taliban seize Kunduz city center in landmark gain |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-afghanistan-attack-idUSKCN0RS0A820150928 |access-date=29 September 2015 |work=Reuters |archive-date=4 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211104003646/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-afghanistan-attack-idUSKCN0RS0A820150928 |url-status=live}} The Taliban took the Zakhel and Ali Khel villages on the highway leading south, which connects the city to Kabul and Mazar-e Sharif through Aliabad district. They reportedly made their largest gains in the southwest of Kunduz, where some armed local communities had started supporting the Taliban. Taliban fighters had allegedly blocked the route to the airport, to prevent civilians fleeing the city.{{cite web |title=Taliban fighters raid Kunduz in Afghanistan |url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/09/taliban-fighters-raid-kunduz-afghanistan-150928070609618.html |access-date=29 September 2015 |publisher=Al Jazeera |archive-date=12 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190712205940/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/09/taliban-fighters-raid-kunduz-afghanistan-150928070609618.html |url-status=live}} One witness reported that the headquarters of the National Directorate of Security was set on fire.{{cite web |date=28 September 2015 |title=Taliban seizes control of major Afghan city Kunduz for first time since US-led invasion |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-09-29/taliban-seize-half-of-major-afghan-city-police/6811692 |access-date=29 September 2015 |publisher=ABC News |archive-date=16 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816025005/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-09-29/taliban-seize-half-of-major-afghan-city-police/6811692 |url-status=live}}

In January 2015, the Islamic State caliphate established a branch in Afghanistan called Khorasan (ISKP, or ISIS-K) and began recruiting fighters{{cite web |title=Officials confirm ISIL present in Afghanistan |url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia/2015/01/afghan-officials-confirm-isil-presence-201511815245847478.html |access-date=6 February 2015 |publisher=Al Jazeera |archive-date=20 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160420163722/http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia/2015/01/afghan-officials-confirm-isil-presence-201511815245847478.html |url-status=live}} and clashing with the Taliban.{{cite web |date=12 January 2015 |title=ISIS active in south Afghanistan, officials confirm for first time |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/isis-active-in-south-afghanistan-officials-confirm-for-first-time/ |access-date=6 February 2015 |publisher=CBS News |archive-date=27 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190927030718/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/isis-active-in-south-afghanistan-officials-confirm-for-first-time/ |url-status=live}}{{cite web |date=22 January 2015 |title=Capture the Flag in Afghanistan |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2015/01/22/capture-the-flag-in-afghanistan/ |access-date=6 February 2015 |work=Foreign Policy |archive-date=15 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190115054720/https://foreignpolicy.com/2015/01/22/capture-the-flag-in-afghanistan/ |url-status=live}} It was created after pledging allegiance to the self-assumed worldwide caliph Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.{{cite web |date=20 January 2016 |title=U.S. forces can now pursue ISIS in Afghanistan |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2016/01/20/politics/afghanistan-isis-state-department-pentagon/index.html |publisher=CNN |access-date=12 September 2021 |archive-date=15 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210915054501/https://edition.cnn.com/2016/01/20/politics/afghanistan-isis-state-department-pentagon/index.html |url-status=live}} On 18 March, Hafiz Wahidi, ISIL's replacement deputy Emir in Afghanistan, was killed by the Afghan Armed Forces, along with 9 other ISIL militants accompanying him.{{cite web |date=18 March 2015 |title=Afghan Army Kills Commander of ISIL Affiliate |url=http://www.almasdarnews.com/article/afghan-army-kills-commander-of-isil-affiliate/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150713101439/http://www.almasdarnews.com/article/afghan-army-kills-commander-of-isil-affiliate/ |archive-date=13 July 2015 |access-date=12 September 2021 |work=Al-Masdar News}}File:TAAC-E advisers emphasize Afghan police logistics in Nangarhar 150106-A-VO006-013.jpg

In 2015, the Taliban began an offensive that took over parts of Helmand Province. By June, they had seized control of Dishu and Baghran killing 5,588 Afghan government security forces (3,720 of them were police officers).{{cite news |date=13 June 2015 |title=Taliban Attack Police Base in Afghanistan, Killing 17 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/14/world/asia/taliban-police-base-southern-afghanistan.html?_r=0 |work=The Telegraph |access-date=12 September 2021 |archive-date=11 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210911205855/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/14/world/asia/taliban-police-base-southern-afghanistan.html?_r=0 |url-status=live}} By the end of July, the Taliban had overrun Nawzad District{{cite web |date=30 July 2015 |title=Taliban seize district in Helmand province |url=http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2015/07/taliban-seize-district-in-helmand-province.php |work=The Long War Journal |access-date=12 September 2021 |archive-date=18 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210918042709/https://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2015/07/taliban-seize-district-in-helmand-province.php |url-status=live}} and on 26 August, the Taliban took control of Musa Qala.{{cite news |date=26 August 2015 |title=Two Setbacks for Coalition in Afghanistan |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/27/world/asia/nato-soldiers-in-helmand-province-afghanistan-killed-by-attackers-in-security-uniforms.html |url-access=limited |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150826082654/http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/27/world/asia/nato-soldiers-in-helmand-province-afghanistan-killed-by-attackers-in-security-uniforms.html |archive-date=2015-08-26 |work=The New York Times}} In October, Taliban forces had attempted to take Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand province. The Afghan 215th Corps and special operations forces launched a counteroffensive against the Taliban in November,{{cite web |date=11 February 2015 |title=US Airstrikes Target Islamic State in Afghanistan |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/us-airstrikes-target-islamic-state-afghanistan-36870144 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160212082932/http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/us-airstrikes-target-islamic-state-afghanistan-36870144 |archive-date=12 February 2016 |publisher=ABC News}} Whilst the assault was repelled, Taliban forces remained dug into the city's suburbs as of December 2015.{{cite news |date=23 December 2015 |title=Prepare 200 graves, warn Sangin police besieged by Taliban |url=https://www.thetimes.com/best-law-firms/profile-legal/article/prepare-200-graves-warn-sangin-police-besieged-by-taliban-m8rlgwkd75g?region=global |newspaper=The Times |access-date=12 September 2021 |archive-date=4 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170304203549/http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/world/asia/afghanistan/article4647910.ece |url-status=live}}

On 22 June 2015, the Taliban detonated a car bomb outside the National Assembly in Kabul, and Taliban fighters attacked the building with assault rifles and RPGs.{{cite web |author=Masoud Popalzai and Jethro Mullen |date=22 June 2015 |title=Taliban attempt attack on Afghan Parliament in Kabul |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2015/06/22/asia/afghanistan-kabul-parliament-attack/ |access-date=22 June 2015 |publisher=CNN |archive-date=16 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816025006/https://edition.cnn.com/2015/06/22/asia/afghanistan-kabul-parliament-attack/ |url-status=live}}{{cite news |last1=Harooni |first1=Hamid Shalizi |date=22 June 2015 |title=Taliban launch brazen attack on Afghan parliament, seize second district in north |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-afghanistan-blast-idUSKBN0P20FM20150622 |access-date=22 June 2015 |work=Reuters |archive-date=4 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211104004210/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-afghanistan-blast-idUSKBN0P20FM20150622 |url-status=live}} The bombing highlighted differences within the Taliban in their approach to peace talks.{{cite news |date=24 June 2015 |title=Attack on Afghanistan's parliament – When even failure is success |url=https://www.economist.com/news/asia/21655045-when-even-failure-success |newspaper=The Economist |access-date=12 September 2021 |archive-date=25 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170825103309/https://www.economist.com/news/asia/21655045-when-even-failure-success |url-status=live}}{{cite web |date=24 June 2015 |title=Afghan Peace Talks Expose Rifts in Taliban Leadership |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/afghan-peace-talks-expose-rifts-in-taliban-leadership/2835089.html |publisher=VOA News |access-date=12 September 2021 |archive-date=15 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160115074612/http://www.voanews.com/content/afghan-peace-talks-expose-rifts-in-taliban-leadership/2835089.html |url-status=live}}

In July 2015, Pakistan hosted the first official peace talks between Taliban representatives and the Afghan government. U.S. and China attended the talks brokered by Pakistan in Murree as two observers.{{cite web |date=8 July 2015 |title=Taliban, Afghan officials hold peace talks, agree to meet again |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-afghanistan-taliban-idUSKCN0PI0DX20150708 |access-date=11 December 2020 |work=Reuters |archive-date=16 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816160813/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-afghanistan-taliban-idUSKCN0PI0DX20150708 |url-status=live}} In January 2016, Pakistan hosted a round of four-way talks with Afghan, Chinese and American officials, but the Taliban did not attend.{{cite web |date=11 January 2016 |title=Pakistan hosts Afghanistan peace talks |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-35279283 |work=BBC News |access-date=12 September 2021 |archive-date=16 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816160814/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-35279283 |url-status=live}} The Taliban did hold informal talks with the Afghan government in 2016.{{cite web |last1=Rothwell |first1=James |last2=Khan |first2=Mohammad Zubair |last3=Sarwary |first3=Bilal |date=18 October 2016 |title=Taliban holds 'informal' peace talks with Afghanistan |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/10/18/taliban-holds-informal-peace-talks-with-afghanistan/ |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/10/18/taliban-holds-informal-peace-talks-with-afghanistan/ |archive-date=10 January 2022 |work=Daily Telegraph |location=London}}{{cbignore}} China's reason for the negotiation was that Afghan security situation affected its own separatist groups, and economic activity with Pakistan. The Taliban declined.{{cite news |last1=Ahmad |first1=Amena Bakr |date=3 May 2015 |title=Taliban, Afghan figures talk ceasefire but fail to agree |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-qatar-afghanistan-idUSKBN0NO0M920150503 |work=Reuters |access-date=12 September 2021 |archive-date=4 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211104003551/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-qatar-afghanistan-idUSKBN0NO0M920150503 |url-status=live}}
{{cite news |last1=Zahra-Malik |first1=Jibran Ahmad |date=12 March 2015 |title=Exclusive: Secret meetings in Pakistan expose obstacles to Afghan peace talks |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-afghanistan-taliban-talks-idUSKBN0M81A720150312 |work=Reuters |access-date=12 September 2021 |archive-date=11 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210911210405/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-afghanistan-taliban-talks-idUSKBN0M81A720150312 |url-status=live}}
{{cite news |last1=Donati |first1=Jessica |date=11 November 2014 |title=Exclusive: China seeks greater role in Afghanistan with peace talk push |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-afghanistan-china-idUSKCN0IV1EB20141111 |work=Reuters |access-date=12 September 2021 |archive-date=4 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211104114444/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-afghanistan-china-idUSKCN0IV1EB20141111 |url-status=live}}
{{cite news |last1=Golovnina |first1=Maria |date=12 February 2015 |title=China offers to mediate in stalled Afghan Taliban peace talks |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pakistan-china-idUSKBN0LG1UP20150212 |work=Reuters |access-date=12 September 2021 |archive-date=4 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211104030431/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pakistan-china-idUSKBN0LG1UP20150212 |url-status=live}}{{cite web |date=22 March 2016 |title=Afghanistan: Taliban won't talk because it is winning |url=http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2016/03/afghanistan-taliban-won-talk-winning-pakistan-isis-160322054137025.html |publisher=Al Jazeera |access-date=12 September 2021 |archive-date=8 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200408130956/https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2016/03/afghanistan-taliban-won-talk-winning-pakistan-isis-160322054137025.html |url-status=live}}

On 11 November 2015, it was reported that infighting had broken out between different Taliban factions in Zabul Province. Fighters loyal to the new Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansoor fought a pro-ISIL splinter faction led by Mullah Mansoor Dadullah. Even though Dadullah's faction enjoyed the support of foreign ISIL fighters, including Uzbeks and Chechens, it was reported that Mansoor's Taliban loyalists had the upper hand. According to Ghulam Jilani Farahi, provincial director of security in Zabul, more than 100 militants from both sides were killed since the fighting broke out.{{cite web |title=Taliban-on-Taliban turf war erupts in Afghanistan |url=http://www.worldbulletin.net/asia-pacific/166221/taliban-on-taliban-turf-war-erupts-in-afghanistan |access-date=15 November 2015 |work=worldbulletin News |archive-date=15 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180815055324/http://www.worldbulletin.net/asia-pacific/166221/taliban-on-taliban-turf-war-erupts-in-afghanistan |url-status=usurped}} The infighting stifled peace talks.{{cite web |date=10 March 2016 |title=Dozens killed in clashes between rival Taliban factions in Afghanistan |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/10/dozens-killed-clashes-rival-taliban-factions-afghanistan-herat |work=The Guardian |access-date=12 September 2021 |archive-date=28 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210628075450/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/10/dozens-killed-clashes-rival-taliban-factions-afghanistan-herat |url-status=live}}{{cite web |date=14 April 2016 |title=Number of ISIL Fighters in Afghanistan Drops Significantly, Official Says |url=http://www.defense.gov/News-Article-View/Article/721629/number-of-isil-fighters-in-afghanistan-drops-significantly-official-says |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160712165253/http://www.defense.gov/News-Article-View/Article/721629/number-of-isil-fighters-in-afghanistan-drops-significantly-official-says |archive-date=12 July 2016 |access-date=31 August 2017 |publisher=US Department of Defense}}

As a result of the infighting, which has resulted in Mansour being consumed with a campaign to quell dissent against his leadership; Sirajuddin Haqqani, chief of the Haqqani Network was selected to become the deputy leader of the Taliban in the summer of 2015, during a leadership struggle within the Taliban. Sirajuddin and other Haqqani leaders increasingly ran the day-to-day military operations for the Taliban, in particular; refining urban terrorist attacks and cultivating a sophisticated international fund-raising network, they also appointed Taliban governors and began uniting the Taliban. As a result, the Haqqani Network is now closely integrated with the Taliban at a leadership level, and is growing in influence within the insurgency, whereas the network was largely autonomous before, and there are concerns that the fighting is going to be deadlier. Tensions with the Pakistani military have also been raised because American and Afghan officials accuse them of sheltering the Haqqanis as a proxy group.{{cite news |date=7 May 2016 |title=Haqqanis Steering Deadlier Taliban in Afghanistan, Officials Say |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/08/world/asia/haqqanis-steering-deadlier-taliban-in-afghanistan-officials-say.html?_r=0 |work=The New York Times |access-date=12 September 2021 |archive-date=4 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211104071852/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/08/world/asia/haqqanis-steering-deadlier-taliban-in-afghanistan-officials-say.html?_r=0 |url-status=live}}{{cite web |date=7 May 2016 |title=Afghanistan Faces Tough Battle as Haqqanis Unify the Taliban |url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/afghanistan-faces-tough-battle-haqqanis-unify-taliban-38948820 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160508085857/http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/afghanistan-faces-tough-battle-haqqanis-unify-taliban-38948820 |archive-date=8 May 2016 |publisher=ABC news}}

File:TAAC-E advisers observe progress in Afghan police logistics 150217-A-VO006-028.jpg advisers in 2015]]

December 2015 saw a renewed Taliban offensive in Helmand focused on the town of Sangin. The Sangin district fell to the Taliban on 21 December after fierce clashes that killed more than 90 soldiers in two days.{{cite web |date=21 December 2015 |title=Fierce fight for Helmand as Afghan Taliban gains ground |url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/12/taliban-gain-ground-fight-afghanistan-helmand-151221054627572.html |publisher=Al Jazeera |access-date=12 September 2021 |archive-date=23 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200523214310/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/12/taliban-gain-ground-fight-afghanistan-helmand-151221054627572.html |url-status=live}} It was reported that 30 members of the SAS alongside 60 US special forces operators joined the Afghan Army in the Battle to retake parts of Sangin from Taliban insurgents,{{cite web |date=22 December 2015 |title=SAS in battle to stop Taliban overrunning Sangin |url=https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/sas-in-battle-to-stop-taliban-overrunning-sangin/ar-BBnOfYr?ocid=spartandhp |work=The Telegraph |access-date=12 September 2021 |archive-date=16 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116022732/http://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/sas-in-battle-to-stop-taliban-overrunning-sangin/ar-BBnOfYr?ocid=spartandhp |url-status=live}} in addition, about 300 US troops and a small number of British remained in Helmand to advise Afghan commanders at the corps level.{{cite news |date=26 January 2016 |title=The U.S. was supposed to leave Afghanistan by 2017. Now it might take decades. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2016/01/26/the-u-s-was-supposed-to-leave-afghanistan-by-2017-now-it-might-take-decades/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=12 September 2021 |archive-date=14 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210914111051/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2016/01/26/the-u-s-was-supposed-to-leave-afghanistan-by-2017-now-it-might-take-decades/ |url-status=live}}{{cite web |date=22 December 2015 |title=British military deployed to Afghanistan: Why Sangin matters |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/12063664/British-military-deployed-to-Afghanistan-Why-Sangin-matters.html |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/12063664/British-military-deployed-to-Afghanistan-Why-Sangin-matters.html |archive-date=10 January 2022 |work=Telegraph}}{{cbignore}} Senior American commanders said that the Afghan troops in the province have lacked effective leaders as well as the necessary weapons and ammunition to hold off persistent Taliban attacks. Some Afghan soldiers in Helmand have been fighting in tough conditions for years without a break to see their family, leading to poor morale and high desertion rates.

Peace movements started arising in Afghanistan, including the Tabassum movement in 2015, the Enlightenment Movement during 2016–17, Uprising for Change in 2017, and the People's Peace Movement in 2018.

{{See also|Islamic State}}

In January 2016, the US government sent a directive to the Pentagon which granted new legal authority for the US military to go on the offensive against Militants affiliated with the ISIL-KP, after the State Department announced the designation of ISIS in Afghanistan and Pakistan as a foreign terrorist organization. The number of militants started with around 60 or 70, with most of them coming over the border with Pakistan but eventually{{when|date=May 2019}} ranged between 1,000 and 3,000 militants.{{cite web |date=21 February 2016 |title=How IS has been making enemies in Afghanistan |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-35595446 |work=BBC News |access-date=12 September 2021 |archive-date=16 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180716044516/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-35595446 |url-status=live}} They were mainly defectors from the Afghan and the Pakistani Taliban, and were generally confined to Nangarhar Province, and partially, Kunar province.{{cite web |date=14 January 2016 |title=State Department lists Islamic State's 'Khorasan Province' as Foreign Terrorist Organization |url=http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2016/01/state-department-lists-islamic-states-khorasan-province-as-foreign-terrorist-organization.php |work=The Long War Journal |access-date=12 September 2021 |archive-date=9 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160309060809/http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2016/01/state-department-lists-islamic-states-khorasan-province-as-foreign-terrorist-organization.php |url-status=live}}

In early February 2016, Taliban insurgents renewed their assault on Sangin, after previously being repulsed in December 2015, launching a string of ferocious attacks on Afghan government forces earlier in the month. As a result, the United States decided to send troops from the 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division, in order to prop up the Afghan 215th Corps in Helmand province, particularly around Sangin, joining US special operations forces already in the area.{{cite web |date=11 February 2016 |title=US Army orders hundreds of soldiers back to southern Afghanistan |url=https://www.foxnews.com/politics/us-army-orders-hundreds-of-soldiers-back-to-southern-afghanistan/ |publisher=Fox News |access-date=12 September 2021 |archive-date=17 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180817085936/http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/02/11/us-army-orders-hundreds-soldiers-back-to-southern-afghanistan.html |url-status=live}}{{cite web |date=7 February 2016 |title=Taliban 'close to capturing Sangin' as militants step up assault on Helmand |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/feb/07/taliban-close-to-capturing-sangin-as-militants-step-up-assault-on-helmand |work=The Guardian |access-date=12 September 2021 |archive-date=4 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211104003003/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/feb/07/taliban-close-to-capturing-sangin-as-militants-step-up-assault-on-helmand |url-status=live}}{{cite web |date=8 February 2016 |title=Taliban are 'close to overrunning Sangin' where 106 British soldiers died |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/12145815/Taliban-are-close-to-overrunning-Sangin-where-106-British-soldiers-died.html |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/12145815/Taliban-are-close-to-overrunning-Sangin-where-106-British-soldiers-died.html |archive-date=10 January 2022 |work=The Telegraph}}{{cbignore}}{{cite web |date=9 February 2016 |title=U.S. troop reinforcements head for embattled southern Afghan province |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-afghanistan-military-idUSKCN0VI0FX?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews |publisher=Reuters |access-date=12 September 2021 |archive-date=4 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211104003014/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-afghanistan-military-idUSKCN0VI0FX?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews |url-status=live}}{{cite news |date=15 March 2016 |title=A 5th District in Helmand Province Falls to the Taliban |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/16/world/asia/a-5th-district-in-helmand-province-falls-to-the-taliban.html?_r=0 |work=The New York Times |access-date=12 September 2021 |archive-date=4 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211104003352/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/16/world/asia/a-5th-district-in-helmand-province-falls-to-the-taliban.html?_r=0 |url-status=live}} On 14 March 2016, Khanneshin District in Helmand Province fell to the Taliban; and district by district, Afghan troops were retreating back to urban centers in Helmand. In early April 2016, 600 Afghan troops launched a major offensive to retake Taliban-occupied areas in and around Sangin.{{cite web |date=7 April 2016 |title=Afghan forces face 'decisive' battle in Helmand |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-35984894 |work=BBC News |access-date=12 September 2021 |archive-date=4 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211104002913/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-35984894 |url-status=live}} An Afghan army offensive to retake the town of Khanisheen was repelled by the Taliban, and desertions from the army in the area were rife.{{cite web |date=11 April 2016 |title=Afghan soldiers desert as Taliban threaten key Helmand capital |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2016/04/11/middleeast/afghanistan-helmand-taliban-soldiers/ |publisher=CNN |access-date=12 September 2021 |archive-date=16 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816025104/https://edition.cnn.com/2016/04/11/middleeast/afghanistan-helmand-taliban-soldiers/ |url-status=live}}

Despite US airstrikes, militants besieged Lashkar Gah, reportedly controlling all roads leading to the city and areas a few kilometres away. The US stepped up airstrikes in support of Afghan ground forces. Afghan forces in the city were reported as "exhausted", whilst police checkpoints around the capital were falling one by one. Meanwhile, the Taliban sent a new elite commando force into Helmand called "Sara Khitta" in Pashto.{{cite web |date=4 August 2016 |title=US airstrikes undermining Afghan security, says former president |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/04/former-afghan-president-criticises-foreign-led-combat-against-Taliban |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160805231920/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/04/former-afghan-president-criticises-foreign-led-combat-against-taliban |archive-date=5 August 2016 |work=The Guardian}}{{cite web |date=9 August 2016 |title=Afghanistan: Helmand Capital May Fall To Taliban |url=https://news.sky.com/story/afghanistan-helmand-capital-may-fall-to-taliban-10529673 |publisher=Sky News |access-date=12 September 2021 |archive-date=11 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210911205906/https://news.sky.com/story/afghanistan-helmand-capital-may-fall-to-taliban-10529673 |url-status=live}}{{cite news |date=6 August 2016 |title=Taliban's new commando force tests Afghan army's strength |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/talibans-new-commando-force-tests-afghan-armys-strength/2016/08/06/406be986-5beb-11e6-8b48-0cb344221131_story.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160807161247/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/talibans-new-commando-force-tests-afghan-armys-strength/2016/08/06/406be986-5beb-11e6-8b48-0cb344221131_story.html |archive-date=7 August 2016 |newspaper=The Washington Post}} Afghan security forces beat back attacks by Taliban fighters encroaching on Chah-e-Anji nearby Lashkar Gah; Afghan special forces backed by US airstrikes battled increasingly well-armed and disciplined Taliban militants. An Afghan special forces commander said "The Taliban have heavily armed, uniformed units that are equipped with night vision and modern weapons."{{cite web |date=14 August 2016 |title=Taliban 'special forces' lead Helmand assault: Afghan officials |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-afghanistan-helmand-idUSKCN10P0KO?il=0 |publisher=Reuters |access-date=12 September 2021 |archive-date=31 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210831090928/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-afghanistan-helmand-idUSKCN10P0KO?il=0 |url-status=live}}

On 10 March 2016, officials said that the Taliban clashed with a Taliban splinter group (led by Muhammad Rasul) in the Shindand district of Herat, and up to 100 militants were killed.

In April 2016, President Ashraf Ghani "pulled the plug" on the Afghan governments failing effort to start peace talks with the Taliban.{{cite web |date=25 April 2016 |title=No more peace talks with Taliban, Afghanistan's president says |url=https://www.latimes.com/world/afghanistan-pakistan/la-fg-afghanistan-taliban-20160425-story.html |work=Los Angeles Times |access-date=12 September 2021 |archive-date=11 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210911210141/https://www.latimes.com/world/afghanistan-pakistan/la-fg-afghanistan-taliban-20160425-story.html |url-status=live}} Additionally, due to the integration of Haqqani Networks into the Taliban leadership, it would become harder for peace talks to take place. Although leader of the Taliban, Haibatullah Akhundzada, said a peace agreement was possible if the government in Kabul renounced its foreign allies.{{cite news |date=2 July 2016 |title=Taliban leader says foreigners must quit Afghanistan for peace |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-afghanistan-taliban-idUSKCN0ZI0AR |access-date=6 July 2016 |publisher=Reuters |archive-date=11 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210911205901/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-afghanistan-taliban-idUSKCN0ZI0AR |url-status=live}}

On 23 July 2016, Afghan and US forces began an offensive to clear Nangarhar province of Islamic State militants hours after the Kabul bombing, the operation was dubbed "Wrath of the Storm" involving both Afghan regular army and special forces and is the Afghan army's first major strategic offensive of the summer. The estimated size of the ISIL-KP in January 2016 was around 3,000, but by July, the number had been reduced to around 1,000 to 1,500, with 70% of its fighters coming from the TTP.{{cite web |date=30 July 2016 |title=Afghan troops press offensive against Islamic State |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-afghanistan-operations-idUSKCN10A0FE |publisher=Reuters |access-date=12 September 2021 |archive-date=31 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190331104030/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-afghanistan-operations-idUSKCN10A0FE |url-status=live}}{{cite web |date=26 July 2016 |title=Key Islamic State leader Saad Emarati 'killed in Afghanistan' |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-36892100 |work=BBC News |access-date=12 September 2021 |archive-date=31 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190331144519/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-36892100 |url-status=live}}

As of July 2016, Time magazine estimated that at least 20% of Afghanistan was under Taliban control with southernmost Helmand Province as major stronghold,{{cite magazine |url=https://time.com/4402071/afghanistan-war-everyday/ |title=When War Is Just Another Day in Afghanistan |magazine=Time |date=18 July 2016 |access-date=12 September 2021 |archive-date=20 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210820205822/https://time.com/4402071/afghanistan-war-everyday/ |url-status=live}} while General Nicholson stated that Afghan official armed forces' casualties had risen 20 percent compared to 2015.{{cite web |url=http://www.militarytimes.com/story/military/2016/07/28/five-us-troops-wounded-afghanistan-operations-grow/87663788/ |title=American troops wounded fighting ISIS in Afghanistan as operations there grow |publisher=military.com |date=28 July 2016 |access-date=23 September 2021 |archive-date=31 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161231055958/http://www.militarytimes.com/story/military/2016/07/28/five-us-troops-wounded-afghanistan-operations-grow/87663788/ |url-status=live}} On 22 August, the US announced that 100 US troops were sent to Lashkar Gah to help prevent the Taliban from overrunning it, in what Brigadier General Charles Cleveland called a "temporary effort" to advise the Afghan police.{{cite web |date=22 August 2016 |title=Over a hundred US troops sent to Lashkar Gah to battle Taliban |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/aug/22/us-troops-sent-afghanistan-taliban-lashkar-gah |work=The Guardian |access-date=12 September 2021 |archive-date=14 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210914071116/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/aug/22/us-troops-sent-afghanistan-taliban-lashkar-gah |url-status=live}}

On 22 September 2016, the Afghan government signed a draft peace deal with Hezb-i-Islami.[https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/23/world/asia/afghanistan-peace-deal-hezb-i-islami.html Afghanistan Signs Draft Peace Deal With Faction Led by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210911222820/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/23/world/asia/afghanistan-peace-deal-hezb-i-islami.html |date=11 September 2021 }} The New York Times, 23 September 2016.{{cite web |url=https://www.latimes.com/world/la-fg-afghanistan-agreement-20160922-snap-story.html |title=Afghanistan takes a step toward peace with notorious ex-warlord |work=Los Angeles Times |date=22 September 2016 |access-date=12 September 2021 |archive-date=11 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210911205855/https://www.latimes.com/world/la-fg-afghanistan-agreement-20160922-snap-story.html |url-status=live}}File:Soldiers of Special Forces of 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne) memorialize two of their fallen brothers during a memorial held at Kunduz Airfield in Afghanistan on Nov. 7, 2016.jpg memorialize two comrades who were killed in action during the Battle of Boz Qandahari in 2016]]

On 31 December 2016, the Taliban continued their assault on the province with attacks on Sangin and Marjah districts.{{cite web |date=2 January 2017 |title=Taliban ramp up attacks in southwestern Afghanistan as NATO casualties hit a low |url=https://www.stripes.com/news/taliban-ramp-up-attacks-in-southwestern-afghanistan-as-nato-casualties-hit-a-low-1.447089 |work=Stars and Stripes |access-date=12 September 2021 |archive-date=11 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210911205855/https://www.stripes.com/news/taliban-ramp-up-attacks-in-southwestern-afghanistan-as-nato-casualties-hit-a-low-1.447089 |url-status=live}} Some estimated suggest the Taliban had retaken more than 80% of Helmand province.{{cite web |date=6 January 2017 |title=The U.S. Marines are sending a task force back to Afghanistan's Helmand province |url=https://www.marinecorpstimes.com/articles/marines-afghanistan-taliban-task-force |work=Marine Corps Times |access-date=12 September 2021 |archive-date=13 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170713192530/https://www.marinecorpstimes.com/articles/marines-afghanistan-taliban-task-force |url-status=live}}

In early January 2017, the Marine Corps Times reported that Afghan forces seek to rebuild, following an exhausting 2016 fighting season; 33 districts, spread across 16 Afghan provinces, were under insurgent control whilst 258 were under government control and nearly 120 districts remained "contested." According to an inspector general, the Afghan army comprises about 169,000 soldiers, but in 2016, they suffered a 33 percent attrition rate—a 7 percent increase from 2015.

In early March 2017, American and Afghan forces launched Operation Hamza to "flush" ISIS-K from its stronghold in eastern Afghanistan, engaging in regular ground battles.{{cite web |date=28 April 2017 |title=Army Rangers killed in Afghanistan were possible victims of friendly fire |url=https://www.armytimes.com/articles/two-army-rangers-killed-fighting-isis-in-aghanistan-identified |work=Army Times}} In April 2017, NATO spokesman Captain Bill Salvin said that Afghan and international forces had reduced ISIS-K controlled territory in Afghanistan by two-thirds and had killed around half their fighters in the previous two years. Since the beginning of 2017, 460 airstrikes against terrorists (with drone strikes alone killing more than 200 IS militants); he added that the affiliate has an estimated 600–800 fighters in two eastern Afghan provinces.{{cite news |date=6 April 2017 |title=US cites progress against Islamic State in Afghanistan |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/us-cites-progress-against-islamic-state-in-afghanistan/2017/04/06/70609d38-1ace-11e7-8598-9a99da559f9e_story.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170406151311/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/us-cites-progress-against-islamic-state-in-afghanistan/2017/04/06/70609d38-1ace-11e7-8598-9a99da559f9e_story.html |archive-date=6 April 2017 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}

On 23 March 2017, Sangin district was captured by the Taliban, as they had overrun the district center of the town of Sangin. During the earlier phase of the war, almost a quarter of British casualties were caused by fighting for the town, while more recently hundreds of Afghan troops died defending it.{{cite news |date=23 March 2017 |title=Taliban take key Afghan district in south; 9 killed in north |url=https://www.foxnews.com/world/taliban-take-key-afghan-district-in-south-9-killed-in-north/ |access-date=23 March 2017 |publisher=Fox News |archive-date=12 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612143255/http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/03/23/taliban-take-key-afghan-district-in-south-killed-in-north.html |url-status=live}}{{cite news |date=23 March 2017 |title=Afghan Taliban capture city of Sangin |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-39365330 |access-date=23 March 2017 |work=BBC News |archive-date=24 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211024141910/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-39365330 |url-status=live}} On 29 April, the US deployed an additional 5,000 Marines to the Southern Helmand Province.{{cite news |date=24 May 2017 |title=U.S. may send up to 5,000 more troops to Afghanistan |url=https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/may/4/us-may-send-up-to-5000-more-troops-to-afghanistan/ |access-date=31 December 2017 |work=Washington Times |archive-date=11 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210911205909/https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/may/4/us-may-send-up-to-5000-more-troops-to-afghanistan/ |url-status=live}}

File:U.S. Army CH-47 Chinook helicopter pilots fly near Jalalabad, Afghanistan, April 5, 2017.jpgOn 21 April 2017, the Taliban attacked Camp Shaheen near Mazar-e-Sharif, killing over 140 Afghan soldiers."[http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/04/taliban-attacks-key-military-base-north-afghanistan-170421134021613.html Taliban fighters attack Afghan army base, 'killing 140'] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170422005703/http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/04/taliban-attacks-key-military-base-north-afghanistan-170421134021613.html |date=22 April 2017 }}". Al Jazeera. 22 April 2017.{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/apr/21/50-afghan-soldiers-killed-taliban-suicide-attackers-army-base |title=Taliban kill more than 140 Afghan soldiers at army base | World news |work=The Guardian |date=21 April 2017 |access-date=2 June 2017 |archive-date=11 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210911205857/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/apr/21/50-afghan-soldiers-killed-taliban-suicide-attackers-army-base |url-status=live}}{{cite web |url=http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2017/04/taliban-kills-more-than-100-afghan-soldiers-in-suicide-assault.php |title=Taliban kills more than 140 Afghan soldiers in suicide assault |date=22 April 2017 |publisher=Longwarjournal.org |access-date=2 June 2017 |archive-date=23 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170423064300/http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2017/04/taliban-kills-more-than-100-afghan-soldiers-in-suicide-assault.php |url-status=live}}

On 15 September 2017, the New York Times reported that the CIA was seeking authority to conduct its own drone strikes in Afghanistan and other war zones, according to current and former intelligence and military officials, and that the change in authority was being considered by the White House as part of the new strategy despite concerns by the Pentagon.{{cite news |date=15 September 2017 |title=C.I.A. Wants Authority to Conduct Drone Strikes in Afghanistan for the First Time |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/15/us/politics/cia-drone-strike-authority-afghanistan.html |url-access=limited |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170915093218/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/15/us/politics/cia-drone-strike-authority-afghanistan.html |archive-date=2017-09-15 |work=The New York Times}} On 19 September, the Trump Administration deployed another 3,000 US troops to Afghanistan. They would add to the approximately 11,000 US troops already serving in Afghanistan, bringing the total to at least 14,000 US troops stationed in the country.{{cite web |date=19 September 2017 |title=Trump is sending more than 3,000 troops to Afghanistan |url=https://www.vox.com/world/2017/9/19/16227730/trump-afghanistan-3000-troops-mattis |publisher=Vox |access-date=12 September 2021 |archive-date=28 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191228110421/https://www.vox.com/world/2017/9/19/16227730/trump-afghanistan-3000-troops-mattis |url-status=live}} On 4 October, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis approved a change in rules of engagement as part of the new strategy so that there is no longer a requirement for US troops to be in contact with enemy forces in Afghanistan before opening fire.{{cite web |date=4 October 2017 |title=US relaxes rules of engagement to help troops in Afghanistan defeat Taliban |url=https://www.foxnews.com/us/us-relaxes-rules-of-engagement-to-help-troops-in-afghanistan-defeat-taliban/ |publisher=Fox News |access-date=12 September 2021 |archive-date=29 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180729111733/http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/10/04/us-relaxes-rules-engagement-troops-in-afghanistan-to-defeat-taliban.html |url-status=live}}

On 20 November 2017, General John Nicholson announced that US aircraft were targeting drug production facilities in Afghanistan under a new strategy aimed at cutting off Taliban funding, saying that the Taliban was "becoming a criminal organization" that was earning about $200 million a year from drug-related activities. President Ashraf Ghani strongly endorsed the new campaign of US and Afghan airstrikes against the Taliban-run narcotic centers.{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/afghan-leaders-in-helmand-criticize-us-airstrikes-on-taliban-drug-labs/2017/11/21/7130d556-cec5-11e7-a87b-47f14b73162a_story.html |title=Afghan leaders in Helmand criticize U.S. airstrikes on Taliban drug labs |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=21 November 2017 |access-date=12 September 2021 |archive-date=14 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190114162440/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/afghan-leaders-in-helmand-criticize-us-airstrikes-on-taliban-drug-labs/2017/11/21/7130d556-cec5-11e7-a87b-47f14b73162a_story.html |url-status=live}}

{{further|Afghan peace process|Battle of Darzab (2018)|Ghazni offensive|2019 Afghan presidential election}}

[[File:Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan (2015–present).svg|thumb|Map showing the war as of January 2019

{{legend|#ebc0b3|Under control of the Afghan Government, NATO, and Allies}}{{legend|#ffffff|Under control of the Taliban, Al-Qaeda, and Allies}}{{legend|#b3b2ae|Under control of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and Allies}}{{legend|#76e56a|Under control of the Pakistani Army}}

]]

In January 2018, the Taliban were openly active in 70% of the country (being in full control of 14 districts and have an active and open physical presence in a further 263) and the Islamic State was more active in the country than ever before. Following recent attacks by the Taliban (including the Kabul ambulance bombing on 27 January) and Islamic State that killed scores of civilians, President Trump and Afghan officials decided to rule out any talks with the Taliban.{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-42863116 |title=Taliban threaten 70% of Afghanistan, BBC finds |publisher=BBC |date=31 January 2018 |access-date=21 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180814141430/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-42863116 |archive-date=14 August 2018 |url-status=live}} However, on 27 February, following an increase in violence, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani proposed unconditional peace talks with the Taliban, offering them recognition as a legal political party and the release of the Taliban prisoners. The offer was the most favorable to the Taliban since the war started. It was preceded by months of national consensus building, which found that Afghans overwhelmingly supported a negotiated end to the war.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/11/opinion/peace-taliban.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180311221826/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/11/opinion/peace-taliban.html |archive-date=2018-03-11 |url-access=limited |url-status=live |title=Opinion | An Unprecedented Peace Offer to the Taliban |first=Hekmat Khalil |last=Karzai |date=11 March 2018 |newspaper=The New York Times}}{{cite web |url=https://www.latimes.com/world/asia/la-fg-afghanistan-taliban-peace-20180228-story.html |title=Afghanistan offers amnesty to the Taliban in a bid to end 16-year war |date=28 February 2018 |website=Los Angeles Times |access-date=12 September 2021 |archive-date=12 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210912221330/https://www.latimes.com/world/asia/la-fg-afghanistan-taliban-peace-20180228-story.html |url-status=live}} Two days earlier, the Taliban had called for talks with the US.{{cite web |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/02/28/589426780/afghan-president-urges-taliban-to-talk-peace-offering-political-recognition |title=Afghan President Urges Taliban To Talk Peace, Offering Political Recognition |website=NPR |date=28 February 2018 |last1=Dwyer |first1=Colin |access-date=12 September 2021 |archive-date=12 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210912221331/https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/02/28/589426780/afghan-president-urges-taliban-to-talk-peace-offering-political-recognition |url-status=live}} On 27 March, a conference of 20 countries in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, backed the Afghan government's peace offer.{{cite news |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/uzbekistan-offers-host-talks-taliban-afghanistan/29127849.html |title=Tashkent Conference Backs Afghan Government's Peace Offer |newspaper=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |date=27 March 2018 |publisher=RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty |access-date=12 September 2021 |archive-date=5 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210905132550/https://www.rferl.org/a/uzbekistan-offers-host-talks-taliban-afghanistan/29127849.html |url-status=live}} The Taliban did not publicly respond.

Following Ghani's offer of unconditional peace talks with the Taliban, a growing peace movement arose in Afghanistan during 2018, particularly following a peace march by the People's Peace Movement,{{cite news |last1=Yaad |first1=Ziar |date=2019-03-24 |title=Peace Movement Blames Foreign Countries For Afghan War |url=https://tolonews.com/afghanistan/peace-movement-blames-foreign-countries-afghan-war |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817064335/https://tolonews.com/afghanistan/peace-movement-blames-foreign-countries-afghan-war |archive-date=17 August 2021 |access-date=2021-06-03 |newspaper=TOLOnews}} which the Afghan media dubbed the "Helmand Peace Convoy."{{cite news |date=26 June 2018 |title=Helmand Peace Convoy Rejected Taliban's Allegations |url=https://ariananews.af/helmand-peace-convoy-rejected-talibans-allegations/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190815165100/https://ariananews.af/helmand-peace-convoy-rejected-talibans-allegations/ |archive-date=15 August 2019 |access-date=15 August 2019 |work=Ariana News}}{{Cite news |date=7 July 2018 |title=Helmand peace convoy makes appeals to Russian, American people for peace |url=https://www.khaama.com/helmand-peace-convoy-makes-appeals-to-russian-american-people-for-peace-05521/ |newspaper=The Khaama Press News Agency}} The marchers walked several hundred kilometers from Lashkar Gah in Helmand Province, through Taliban-held territory,{{cite web |date=23 April 2018 |title=Going Nationwide: The Helmand peace march initiative |url=https://www.afghanistan-analysts.org/en/reports/war-and-peace/going-nationwide-the-helmand-peace-march-initiative/ |website=Afghanistan Analysts Network – English}} to Kabul. There they met Ghani, and held sit-in protests outside the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan and nearby embassies.{{cite news |last=Mashal |first=Mujib |date=15 June 2018 |title=A Grass-Roots Afghan Peace Movement Grows, Step by Step |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/15/world/asia/afghanistan-peace-march-.html |url-access=limited |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180615183041/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/15/world/asia/afghanistan-peace-march-.html |archive-date=2018-06-15 |newspaper=The New York Times}} Their efforts inspired further movements in other parts of Afghanistan.{{cite web |last=Kapur |first=Roshni |title=How Afghanistan's Peace Movement Is Winning Hearts and Minds |url=https://truthout.org/articles/how-afghanistans-peace-movement-is-winning-hearts-and-minds/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200304120915/https://truthout.org/articles/how-afghanistans-peace-movement-is-winning-hearts-and-minds/ |archive-date=4 March 2020 |access-date=15 August 2019 |website=Truthout}} Following the march, Ghani and the Taliban agreed a mutual, unprecedented, ceasefire during the Eid al-Fitr celebrations in June. During the ceasefire, Taliban members flocked into Kabul, where they met and communicated with locals and state security forces. Creating a mood of both hope and fear, many civilians welcomed the Taliban and spoke about peace.{{cite web |last=Kabul |first=Ruchi |date=2018-07-06 |title=Selfies with the Taliban: Afghan women buoyed by ceasefire snaps |url=http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2018/jul/06/selfies-with-the-taliban-afghan-women-buoyed-eid-ceasefire-photos-viral |access-date=2021-09-14 |website=The Guardian}} Although civilians called for the ceasefire to be made permanent, the Taliban rejected an extension and resumed fighting after the ceasefire ended on 18 June, while the Afghan government's ceasefire ended a week later.{{cite web |title=Taliban's surprise Eid ceasefire is unprecedented |url=https://www.reuters.com/video/2018/11/04?videoId=434365970&videoChannel=118261 |publisher=Reuters}}{{cite web |title=Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani ends ceasefire with Taliban |url=https://www.dw.com/en/afghanistan-president-ashraf-ghani-ends-ceasefire-with-taliban/a-44467901 |website=Deutsche Welle}}{{cite web |title=Afghanistan: Taliban resume fighting as Eid ceasefire ends |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/06/afghanistan-taliban-resume-fighting-eid-ceasefire-ends-180618044536196.html |publisher=Al Jazeera}}File:Oklahoma National Guard (25227527847).jpg in Kabul, 2018]]American officials had secretly met members of the Taliban's political commission in Qatar in July 2018.{{cite news |last1=Shah |first1=Taimoor |last2=Nordland |first2=Rod |date=28 July 2018 |title=U.S. Diplomats Held Face-to-Face Talks With Taliban, Insurgents Say |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/28/world/asia/us-taliban-afghanistan-talks.html |url-access=limited |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180728153628/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/28/world/asia/us-taliban-afghanistan-talks.html |archive-date=2018-07-28 |newspaper=The New York Times}} In September 2018, Trump appointed Zalmay Khalilzad as special adviser on Afghanistan in the US State Department, with the stated goal of facilitating an intra-Afghan political peace process.{{cite web |date=28 September 2018 |title=Zalmay Khalilzad Will Try to Pave Way for Taliban Talks with Afghanistan |url=https://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/zalmay-khalilzad-will-try-pave-way-taliban-talks-afghanistan |publisher=Cato Institute}} Khalilzad led further talks between the US and the Taliban in Qatar in October.{{Cite news |last=Islamabad |first=Craig Nelson in Kabul and Saeed Shah in |date=12 October 2018 |title=U.S. Envoy Meets Taliban In Push for Afghan Peace Talks |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-envoy-meets-taliban-in-push-for-afghan-peace-talks-1539377851 |work=The Wall Street Journal}} Russia hosted a separate peace talk in November between the Taliban and officials from Afghanistan's High Peace Council.{{cite web |date=9 November 2018 |title=Afghan Taliban attend landmark talks |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-46155189 |work=BBC News}} The talks in Qatar resumed in December,{{cite web |title=New contacts announced between the Taliban and Americans – Intellectual Observer |url=https://intellectualobserver.com/new-contacts-announced-between-the-taliban-and-americans/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181227181403/https://intellectualobserver.com/new-contacts-announced-between-the-taliban-and-americans/ |archive-date=27 December 2018 |access-date=27 December 2018}} though the Taliban refused to allow the Afghan government to be invited,{{cite web |last1=Paigham |first1=Nawid |date=24 March 2019 |title=Marginalised government |url=https://www.dandc.eu/en/article/dangers-us-administration-negotiating-taliban-without-involving-afghan-government |website=D + C, Development and cooperation}} considering them a puppet government of the US.{{cite news |date=25 February 2019 |title=US peace envoy meets Taliban co-founder |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-47351369 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190224220641/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-47351369 |archive-date=24 February 2019 |access-date=25 February 2019}} The Taliban spoke with Afghans including former President Karzai at a hotel in Moscow in February 2019, but again these talks did not include the Afghan government.{{cite news |last1=Higgins |first1=Andrew |last2=Mashal |first2=Mujib |date=4 February 2019 |title=In Moscow, Afghan Peace Talks Without the Afghan Government |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/04/world/asia/afghanistan-taliban-russia-talks-russia.html |url-access=limited |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190205154937/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/04/world/asia/afghanistan-taliban-russia-talks-russia.html |archive-date=2019-02-05 |newspaper=The New York Times}}

In July 2018 the Taliban carried out the Darzab offensive and captured Darzab District following the surrender of ISIL-K to the Afghan Government. In August the Taliban launched a series of offensives, the largest being the Ghazni offensive. During the Ghazni offensive, the Taliban seized Ghazni, Afghanistan's sixth-largest city for several days but eventually retreated.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-asia-45563044/ex-blackwater-ceo-s-plan-to-end-the-war-in-afghanistan |title=Ex-Blackwater CEO's plan to end the war in Afghanistan |access-date=18 September 2018 |work=BBC News |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180918204054/https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-asia-45563044/ex-blackwater-ceo-s-plan-to-end-the-war-in-afghanistan |archive-date=18 September 2018 |url-status=live}}{{cite web |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/08/afghanistan-camp-david/537324/ |title=Erik Prince's Plan to Privatize the War in Afghanistan |access-date=18 August 2018 |publisher=The Atlantic |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180818230112/https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/08/afghanistan-camp-david/537324/ |archive-date=18 August 2018 |url-status=live |date=18 August 2017}}

On 25 January 2019, Ghani said that more than 45,000 members of the Afghan security forces had been killed since he became president in 2014. He also said that there had been fewer than 72 international casualties during the same period.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-47005558 |title=Staggering Afghan death toll revealed |date=25 January 2019 |access-date=25 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190125190922/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-47005558 |archive-date=25 January 2019 |url-status=live}} A January 2019 report by the US government estimated that 53.8% of Afghanistan's districts were controlled or influenced by the government, with 33.9% contested and 12.3% under insurgent control or influence.{{cite news |issn=0362-4331 |last=Nordland |first=Rod |title=Afghan Government Control Over Country Falters, US Report Says |work=The New York Times |access-date=24 May 2019 |date=1 February 2019 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/31/world/asia/afghanistan-taliban-territory-control.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190524223019/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/31/world/asia/afghanistan-taliban-territory-control.html |archive-date=24 May 2019 |url-status=live}}

On 30 April 2019, Afghan government forces undertook clearing operations directed against both ISIS-K and the Taliban in eastern Nangarhar Province, after the two groups fought for over a week over a group of villages in an area of illegal talc mining. The National Directorate of Security claimed 22 ISIS-K fighters were killed and two weapons caches destroyed, while the Taliban claimed Afghan forces killed seven civilians.{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-afghanistan-attacks/afghan-forces-launch-attacks-to-clear-warring-militants-from-east-afghanistan-idUSKCN1S61BI |title=Afghan forces launch attacks to clear warring militants from east Afghanistan |last=Sediqi |first=Abdul Qadir |work=Reuters |access-date=1 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190511115943/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-afghanistan-attacks/afghan-forces-launch-attacks-to-clear-warring-militants-from-east-afghanistan-idUSKCN1S61BI |archive-date=11 May 2019 |url-status=live}} On 28 July, Ghani's running mate Amrullah Saleh's office was attacked by a suicide bomber and a few militants. At least 20 people were killed, and 50 injured; Saleh was among those injured.{{cite web |url=https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-afghanistan-blast/at-least-20-killed-50-injured-in-attack-on-vp-candidates-office-in-kabul-government-idUKKCN1UO0BO?rpc=401& |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191007070152/https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-afghanistan-blast/at-least-20-killed-50-injured-in-attack-on-vp-candidates-office-in-kabul-government-idUKKCN1UO0BO?rpc=401& |url-status=dead |archive-date=7 October 2019 |title=At least 20 killed, 50 injured in attack on VP candidate's office in Kabul – government |access-date=28 July 2019 |publisher=Reuters}}

By August, the Taliban controlled more territory than at any point since 2001.{{cite news |issn=0013-0613 |title=America and the Taliban inch towards a peace deal in Afghanistan |newspaper=The Economist |date=7 August 2019 |access-date=10 August 2019 |url=https://www.economist.com/asia/2019/08/07/america-and-the-taliban-inch-towards-a-peace-deal-in-afghanistan |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190808141537/https://www.economist.com/asia/2019/08/07/america-and-the-taliban-inch-towards-a-peace-deal-in-afghanistan |archive-date=8 August 2019 |url-status=live}} Attempted peace negotiations between the US and the Taliban failed in September.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/08/us/politics/pompeo-trump-afghan-peace-negotiations.html |title=After Trump Calls Off Talks, Afghanistan Braces for Violence |last1=Sanger |first1=David |date=8 September 2019 |work=The New York Times |access-date=9 September 2019 |last2=Mashal |first2=Mujib |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190909010759/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/08/us/politics/pompeo-trump-afghan-peace-negotiations.html |archive-date=9 September 2019 |url-status=live}}

On 25 February 2019, peace talks began between the Taliban and the United States in Qatar, with the Taliban co-founder Abdul Ghani Baradar notably present. Peace negotiations had resumed in December.{{cite web |title=US-Taliban Afghan peace talks at 'important stage': Khalilzad |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/12/taliban-afghan-peace-talks-important-stage-khalilzad-191219061940803.html |access-date=22 February 2020 |publisher=Al-Jazeera}} This round of talks resulted in a seven-day partial ceasefire which began on 22 February 2020.{{cite web |title=US-Taliban truce begins, raising hopes for a peace deal |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/02/pact-taliban-reducing-violence-start-saturday-200221094340829.html |access-date=22 February 2020 |publisher=Al-Jazeera}}

{{Main|United States–Taliban deal|2020–2021 U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan}}

File:Secretary Pompeo Participates in a Signing Ceremony in Doha (49601220548).jpg (left) and Taliban representative Abdul Ghani Baradar (right) sign the Agreement for Bringing Peace to Afghanistan on 29 February 2020]]

On 29 February, 2020, the United States and the Taliban signed a conditional peace deal in Doha, Qatar,{{cite web |title=Afghanistan's Taliban, US sign peace deal |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/02/afghanistan-taliban-sign-deal-america-longest-war-200213063412531.html |access-date=29 February 2020 |publisher=Al-Jazeera}} that called for a prisoner exchange within ten days and was supposed to lead to US troops withdrawal from Afghanistan within 14 months.{{cite news |title=U.S. to withdraw troops from Afghanistan in 14 months if Taliban conditions met |url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/us-to-withdraw-troops-from-afghanistan-in-14-months-if-taliban-conditions-met/ar-BB10yxIL |access-date=29 February 2020 |via=MSN |agency=Reuters}} However, the Afghan government was not a party to the deal, and, in a press conference the next day, President Ghani criticized the deal for being "signed behind closed doors." He said the Afghan government had "made no commitment to free 5,000 Taliban prisoners" and that such an action "is not the United States' authority, but it is the authority of the government of Afghanistan."{{cite web |title=Ghani: No Commitment to Release Taliban Prisoners |url=https://tolonews.com/afghanistan/ghani-no-commitment-release-taliban-prisoners |access-date=1 March 2020 |work=TOLOnews}}{{cite news |date=1 March 2020 |title=President Ghani rejects peace deal's prisoner swap with Taliban |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/03/president-ghani-rejects-peace-deal-prisoner-swap-taliban-200301082216180.html |access-date=1 March 2020 |publisher=Al Jazeera}}{{cite news |title=Afghan peace deal hits first snag over prisoner releases |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2020/03/01/afghan-peace-deal-prisoner-release-118473 |access-date=1 March 2020 |publisher=Politico |agency=Associated Press}}

After signing the agreement with the United States, the Taliban resumed offensive operations against the Afghan army and police on 3 March, conducting attacks in Kunduz and Helmand provinces.{{cite news |issn=0013-0613 |title=A peace deal signed. Then America and the Taliban resume fighting |newspaper=The Economist}} On 4 March, the United States retaliated by launching an air strike against Taliban fighters in Helmand.{{cite news |author1=Samantha Beech |author2=Devan Cole |title=US conducted airstrike on Taliban fighters following attack on Afghan checkpoint |work=CNN |access-date=6 March 2020 |url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/04/politics/taliban-airstrikes-afghanistan-us/index.html}} Despite the peace agreement between the US and the Taliban, insurgent attacks against Afghan security forces were reported to have surged in the country. In the 45 days after the agreement (between 1 March and 15 April), the Taliban conducted more than 4,500 attacks in Afghanistan, which showed an increase of more than 70% as compared to the same period in the previous year. More than 900 Afghan security forces were killed in the period, up from about 520 in the same period a year earlier. Because of a significant reduction in the number of offensives and airstrikes by Afghan and US forces against the Taliban due to the agreement, Taliban casualties dropped to 610 in the period down from about 1,660 in the same period a year earlier.{{Cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-afghanistan-taliba/taliban-step-up-attacks-on-afghan-forces-since-signing-u-s-deal-data-idUSKBN22D5S7 |title=Taliban step up attacks on Afghan forces since signing U.S. deal: data |newspaper=Reuters |date=1 May 2020 |via=www.reuters.com}} Meanwhile, ISIS-K continued to be a threat on its own, killing 32 people in a mass shooting in Kabul on 6 March,{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-51766602 |title=Kabul attack: Abdullah Abdullah escapes deadly attack |work=BBC News |date=6 March 2020}} killing 25 Sikh worshippers in Kabul on 25 March,{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-52029571?SThisFB |title=Afghanistan conflict: Militants in deadly attack on Sikh temple in Kabul |work=BBC News |date=25 March 2020 |access-date=25 March 2020}} and a series of attacks in May most notably killing 16 mothers and newborn babies in Kabul.{{cite web |url=https://gulfnews.com/world/asia/dozens-dead-as-mothers-infants-and-mourners-targeted-in-afghanistan-1.71455535 |title=Dozens dead as mothers, infants and mourners targeted in Afghanistan |website=gulfnews.com |date=12 May 2020}}

On the diplomatic front, on 31 March 2020 a three-person Taliban delegation arrived in Kabul to discuss the release of prisoners,{{cite news |date=31 March 2020 |title=Taliban delegation arrives in Kabul for the first time since 2001 |url=https://www.khaama.com/taliban-delegation-arrives-in-kabul-for-the-first-time-since-2001-04590/ |access-date=31 March 2020 |publisher=Khaama Press}}{{cite news |last=Qadir Sediqi |first=Abdul |date=31 March 2020 |title=Taliban team arrives in Kabul to begin prisoner exchange process |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-afghanistan-taliban/taliban-team-arrives-in-kabul-to-begin-prisoner-exchange-process-idUSKBN21I2WD |access-date=31 March 2020 |publisher=Reuters}} the first Taliban representatives to visit Kabul since 2001. On 7 April, the Taliban departed from the prisoner swap talks, which Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen said was unsuccessful.{{cite news |date=7 April 2020 |title=Afghanistan peace deal: Taliban walk out of 'fruitless' talks |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-52199398 |access-date=8 April 2020 |work=BBC News}}{{cite news |date=8 April 2020 |title=Afghan government says will release 100 Taliban prisoners |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/04/afghan-government-release-100-taliban-prisoners-200408102844277.html |access-date=8 April 2020 |publisher=Al Jazeera}} Shaheen also stated in a tweet that hours after walking out of the talks, the Taliban's negotiating team was recalled from Kabul. The Taliban failed to secure the release of any of the 15 commanders they sought to be released. Arguments over which prisoners to swap resulted in a delay of the planned prisoner swap. After a long delay due to disputes regarding prisoners' releases, the Afghan government had by August released 5,100 prisoners,{{cite web |date=9 August 2020 |title=Loya Jirga Approves Release of 400 Taliban Prisoners |url=https://tolonews.com/afghanistan/loya-jirga-approves-release-400-taliban-prisoners |access-date=10 August 2020 |publisher=TOLO News}} and the Taliban had released 1,000.{{cite web |title=Afghan council to decide fate of 400 Taliban prisoners |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/08/afghan-council-decide-fate-400-taliban-prisoners-200807033215517.html |access-date=9 August 2020}} However, the Afghan government refused to release 400 prisoners from the list of those the Taliban wanted to be released, because those 400 were accused of serious crimes.{{cite news |date=9 August 2020 |title=Traditional council frees Taliban setting up peace talks |url=https://apnews.com/bfcb7a2209c2db5157d3d6a301ba0188 |access-date=9 August 2020 |newspaper=Associated Press}} President Ghani stated that he did not have the constitutional authority to release them, so he convened a loya jirga from 7 to 9 August to discuss the issue.{{cite web |author=Ehsan Qaane |date=7 August 2020 |title=To Release, Or Not To Release? Legal questions around Ghani's consultative loya jirga on Taleban prisoners |url=https://www.afghanistan-analysts.org/en/reports/war-and-peace/to-release-or-not-to-release-legal-questions-around-ghanis-consultative-loya-jirga-on-taleban-prisoners/ |access-date=9 August 2020 |publisher=Afghanistan Analysts}} The jirga agreed to free the 400 remaining prisoners. Talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban began in Doha on 12 September.{{Cite news |last1=Mashal |first1=Mujib |date=12 September 2020 |title=Afghanistan Peace Talks Open in Qatar, Seeking End to Decades of War |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/12/world/asia/afghanistan-taliban.html |url-access=limited |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200912040603/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/12/world/asia/afghanistan-taliban.html |archive-date=2020-09-12 |newspaper=The New York Times}}

On 22 June, Afghanistan reported its "bloodiest week in 19 years", during which 291 members of the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) were killed and 550 others wounded in 422 attacks carried out by the Taliban. At least 42 civilians, including women and children, were also killed and 105 others wounded.{{cite web |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/usa_afghan-security-forces-suffer-bloodiest-week-19-years/6191522.html |title=Afghan Security Forces Suffer Bloodiest Week in 19 Years |date=22 June 2020 |via=www.voanews.com}} During the week, the Taliban kidnapped 60 civilians in the central province of Daykundi.{{cite web |url=https://www.dailysabah.com/world/asia-pacific/taliban-kidnap-60-civilians-in-afghanistan-in-a-week |title=Taliban kidnap 60 civilians in Afghanistan in a week |date=21 June 2020 |via=www.dailysabah.com}}

{{Main|2021 Taliban offensive|Fall of Kabul (2021)}}

The Taliban insurgency intensified considerably in 2021 coinciding with the withdrawal of United States and allied troops from Afghanistan.{{cite news |last=Robertson |first=Nic |date=24 June 2021 |title=Afghanistan is disintegrating fast as Biden's troop withdrawal continues |publisher=CNN |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2021/06/24/asia/afghanistan-taliban-offensive-intl-cmd/index.html |url-status=live |access-date=9 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709190124/https://edition.cnn.com/2021/06/24/asia/afghanistan-taliban-offensive-intl-cmd/index.html |archive-date=9 July 2021}} Since the US withdrawal, the number of casualties of women in the Afghanistan conflict rose by almost 40% in the first quarter of 2021 alone.{{Cite journal |author=Moghadam, Valentine M. |date=July 2021 |title=After U.S. and NATO Troops Leave: Then What for Afghanistan? |url=https://againstthecurrent.org/atc213/afghanistans-tragedy/ |journal=Against the Current |volume=36 |issue=3 |pages=4–5 |access-date=5 Oct 2021}}

On March 6, Afghanistan's President Ghani expressed that his government would be taking forward peace talks with the Taliban, discussing with the insurgent group about holding fresh elections and forming a government in a democratic manner.{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-afghanistan-politics-ghani/afghan-president-says-ready-to-discuss-elections-to-advance-talks-with-taliban-idUSKBN2AY0BI?il=0 |title=Afghan president says ready to discuss elections to advance talks with Taliban |access-date=March 6, 2021 |website=Reuters |date=March 6, 2021}} On April 13, the Biden administration announced that it would withdraw its remaining 2,500 troops from Afghanistan by September 11, on the twentieth anniversary of the September 11 attacks.{{cite magazine |last=Satia |first=Priya |date=27 April 2021 |title=History's Warning for the U.S. Withdrawal From Afghanistan |url=https://time.com/5959073/afghanistan-withdrawal-empire-history/ |url-status=live |editor-last=Felsenthal |editor-first=Edward |editor-link=Edward Felsenthal |magazine=Time |location=New York City |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210427194916/https://time.com/5959073/afghanistan-withdrawal-empire-history/ |archive-date=27 April 2021 |access-date=27 April 2021}} The US government also reiterated support for the Afghan government regarding a possible Taliban military victory.{{cite news |last1=Stewart |first1=Phil |last2=Ali |first2=Idrees |last3=Holland |first3=Steve |title=Biden set to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan by Sept. 11 |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-afghanistan-withdrawal/biden-set-to-withdraw-u-s-troops-from-afghanistan-by-sept-11-idUSKBN2C028S?il=0 |access-date=13 April 2021 |work=Reuters |date=13 April 2021}} File:2021 Taliban Offensive.pngThe Taliban began its last major offensive on 1 May, culminating in the fall of Kabul, a Taliban victory, and the end of war.{{cite news |date=4 May 2021 |title=Taliban launches major Afghan offensive after deadline for U.S. pullout |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/taliban-launches-huge-afghan-offensive-after-deadline-us-pullout-2021-05-04/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210810182121/https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/taliban-launches-huge-afghan-offensive-after-deadline-us-pullout-2021-05-04/ |archive-date=10 August 2021 |access-date=7 August 2021 |publisher=Reuters}}{{cite news |last1=De Luce |first1=Dan |last2=Yusufzai |first2=Mushtaq |last3=Smith |first3=Saphora |date=25 June 2021 |title=Even the Taliban are surprised at how fast they're advancing in Afghanistan |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/even-taliban-are-surprised-how-fast-they-re-advancing-afghanistan-n1272236 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210707212339/https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/even-taliban-are-surprised-how-fast-they-re-advancing-afghanistan-n1272236 |archive-date=7 July 2021 |access-date=8 July 2021 |publisher=NBC News}}{{cite news |last=Roggio |first=Bill |date=15 July 2021 |title=Nearly half of Afghanistan's provincial capitals under threat from Taliban |url=https://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2021/07/nearly-half-of-afghanistans-provincial-capitals-under-threat-from-taliban.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210715190708/https://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2021/07/nearly-half-of-afghanistans-provincial-capitals-under-threat-from-taliban.php |archive-date=15 July 2021 |access-date=16 July 2021 |publisher=FDD's Long War Journal}} In the first three months of the offensive, the Taliban made significant territorial gains in the countryside, increasing the number of districts it controlled from 73 to 223.{{cite news |last=Roggio |first=Bill |date=25 July 2021 |title=Mapping Taliban Contested and Controlled Districts in Afghanistan |url=https://www.longwarjournal.org/mapping-taliban-control-in-afghanistan |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210712004314/https://www.longwarjournal.org/mapping-taliban-control-in-afghanistan |archive-date=12 July 2021 |access-date=12 July 2021 |publisher=FDD's Long War Journal}}

On July 5, the Taliban announced their intention to present a written peace plan to the Afghan Government in August but as of August 13, this had not been done.{{Cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/exclusive-taliban-aim-present-written-peace-plan-talks-soon-next-month-spokesman-2021-07-05/ |title=EXCLUSIVE Taliban aim to present written peace plan at talks as soon as next month |newspaper=Reuters |date=July 6, 2021}}{{cite web |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/8/12/afghanistan-offer-power-sharing-taliban-official |title=Afghanistan gov't offers to share power with Taliban: Official}} Sources claimed that on August 12, Abdullah Abdullah, the Chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation, handed in a plan titled "exiting the crisis" which was shared with the Taliban; it called for the creation of a "joint government."{{Cite news |url=https://www.ariananews.af/abdullah-delivers-power-sharing-plan-to-extended-troika/ |title=Abdullah delivers power sharing plan to Extended Troika | Ariana News |newspaper=Ariana News |date=August 12, 2021}} On August 15, following the Taliban offensive and the fall of the capital Kabul, the Taliban occupied the Presidential Palace after the incumbent President Ashraf Ghani fled the country to Tajikistan.{{cite AV media |people=Mishal Husain, Paul Adams, Malik Mudassir, Ben Wright, Jon Sopel |date=15 August 2021 |title=Taliban seize power in Afghanistan as President flees country |medium=Television production |language=en |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5yCbi4qcpk |location=London |publisher=BBC News |via=YouTube |access-date=15 August 2021}}{{cite journal |author-last=Watkins |author-first=Andrew H. |date=November 2021 |url=https://ctc.usma.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/CTC-SENTINEL-092021.pdf |title=An Assessment of Taliban Rule at Three Months |url-status=live |editor1-last=Cruickshank |editor1-first=Paul |editor2-last=Hummel |editor2-first=Kristina |journal=CTC Sentinel |volume=14 |issue=9 |pages=1–14 |publisher=Combating Terrorism Center |location=West Point, New York |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211129104726/https://ctc.usma.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/CTC-SENTINEL-092021.pdf |archive-date=29 November 2021 |access-date=29 November 2021}} NATO forces maintain a presence in Kabul.{{cite news |date=15 August 2021 |title=NATO says it is helping keep Kabul airport open for evacuations |publisher=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/nato-maintains-diplomatic-presence-kabul-despite-taliban-advances-2021-08-15/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210815160948/https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/nato-maintains-diplomatic-presence-kabul-despite-taliban-advances-2021-08-15/ |archive-date=15 August 2021 |access-date=15 August 2021}}

The Taliban gained control of various towns throughout June and July. On 6 August, they captured the first provincial capital of Zaranj. Over the next ten days, they swept across the country, capturing capital after capital. On 14 August, Mazar-i-Sharif was captured as commanders Rashid Dostum and Atta Nur fled across the border to Uzbekistan, cutting Kabul's vital northern supply route.File:Taliban Humvee in Kabul, August 2021 (cropped).pngOn 15 August, Jalalabad fell, cutting the only remaining international route through the Khyber Pass.{{cite news |date=2021-08-16 |title=How the Taliban stormed across Afghanistan in ten days |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-58232525 |access-date=2021-09-14}} By noon, Taliban forces advanced from the Paghman district reaching the gates of Kabul; Ghani discussed the city's protection with security ministers, while sources claimed a unity peace agreement with the Taliban was imminent. However, Ghani was unable to reach top officials in the interior and defense ministries, and several high-profile politicians had already hurried to the airport. By 2 p.m., the Taliban had entered the city facing no resistance; the president soon fled by helicopter from the Presidential Palace, and within hours Taliban fighters were pictured sitting at Ghani's desk in the palace.{{cite news |date=2021-09-08 |title=Chaos and confusion: The frenzied final hours of the Afghan government |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-58477131 |access-date=2021-09-14}} With the virtual collapse of the republic, the war was declared over by the Taliban on the same day.{{cite web |date=2021-07-08 |title=Remarks by President Biden on the Drawdown of U.S. Forces in Afghanistan |url=https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2021/07/08/remarks-by-president-biden-on-the-drawdown-of-u-s-forces-in-afghanistan/ |access-date=2021-08-25 |website=The White House}}

As the Taliban seized control, the need to evacuate populations vulnerable to the Taliban, including the interpreters and assistants who had worked with the coalition forces, ethnic minorities, and women, became urgent. For more than two weeks, international diplomatic, military and civilian staff, as well as Afghan civilians, were airlifted out the country from Hamid Karzai International Airport. On 16 August Major General Hank Taylor confirmed that US air strikes had ended at least 24 hours earlier and that the focus of the US military at that point was maintaining security at the airport as evacuations continued.{{cite web |title=Pentagon Press Secretary John F. Kirby Holds a Press Briefing |url=https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Transcripts/Transcript/Article/2733523/pentagon-press-secretary-john-f-kirby-holds-a-press-briefing/ |access-date=20 August 2021 |website=U.S. Department of Defense}} The final flight, a US Air Force C-17, departed at 3:29 p.m. ET, 11:59 p.m. in Kabul time, on 30 August, marking the end of the American campaign in Afghanistan.{{cite news |first=Ben |last=Doherty |date=31 August 2021 |title=Last man out: the haunting image of America's final moments in Afghanistan |url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/31/last-man-out-the-haunting-image-of-americas-final-moments-in-afghanistan |access-date= |newspaper=The Guardian}} This marked the end of America's longest war.{{cite news |last1=Garrison |first1=Joey |last2=Shesgreen |first2=Deirdre |last3=Brook |first3=Tom Vanden |date=30 August 2021 |title=With last plane out of Kabul, America's 20-year war in Afghanistan is over |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2021/08/30/how-americas-war-afghanistan-came-end-kabul-airport/5652282001/ |access-date=2021-08-31 |newspaper=USA Today |location=Washington}}{{cite web |url=https://www.aninews.in/news/world/us/us-ended-longest-war-in-american-history-says-biden20210901031111/ |title=US ended longest war in American history, says Biden}}{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/us-afghanistan-longest-war-ends/2021/08/30/b56153ea-09b8-11ec-9781-07796ffb56fe_story.html |title=America's 20-year war in Afghanistan ends as last U.S. military cargo plane lumbers into the sky over Kabul – The Washington Post |newspaper=The Washington Post}}

{{Main|Impact of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)}}

{{Main|Civilian casualties in the war in Afghanistan (2001–2021)}}File:Narang night raid.jpg that killed at least 10 Afghan civilians, December 2009|left]]According to the Costs of War Project at Brown University, the war killed 46,319 Afghan civilians in Afghanistan. However, the death toll is possibly higher due to unaccounted deaths by "disease, loss of access to food, water, infrastructure, and/or other indirect consequences of the war." A report titled Body Count put together by Physicians for Social Responsibility, Physicians for Global Survival and International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) concluded that 106,000–170,000 civilians have been killed as a result of the fighting in Afghanistan at the hands of all parties to the conflict.*[http://www.ippnw.de/commonFiles/pdfs/Frieden/Body_Count_first_international_edition_2015_final.pdf "Body Count – Casualty Figures after 10 Years of the 'War on Terror' – Iraq Afghanistan Pakistan"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150430175027/http://www.ippnw.de/commonFiles/pdfs/Frieden/Body_Count_first_international_edition_2015_final.pdf |date=30 April 2015 }} (PDF), by IPPNW, PGS and PSR, First international edition (March 2015)

• {{cite news |author=Gabriela Motroc |url=http://www.australiannationalreview.com/war-terror-reportedly-killed-13-million-people-decade/ |title=US War on Terror has reportedly killed 1.3 million people in a decade |work=Australian National Review |date=7 April 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150505004045/http://www.australiannationalreview.com/war-terror-reportedly-killed-13-million-people-decade/ |archive-date=5 May 2015}}
• {{cite news |url=http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/national/30-Mar-2015/220-000-killed-in-us-war-in-afghanistan-80-000-in-pakistan-report |title=220,000 killed in US war in Afghanistan 80,000 in Pakistan: report |work=Daily Times |date=30 March 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150505055409/http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/national/30-Mar-2015/220-000-killed-in-us-war-in-afghanistan-80-000-in-pakistan-report |archive-date=5 May 2015}} The Taliban suffered more than 80,000 killed among its fighters.{{Cite book |last=Giustozzi |first=Antonio |title=The Taliban at War: 2001 - 2021 |date=May 1, 2022 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0197649688 |pages=260–263 |language=English}}

The majority of civilian casualties were attributed to anti-government elements each year, though the figure varied from 61% to 80%, with the average hovering around 75% due to the Taliban and other anti-government elements.{{cite news |title=Afghan civilian deaths rise, insurgents responsible for most casualties – UN |date=14 July 2011 |work=U.N. News Centre |url=https://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=39036&Cr=Afghan&Cr1 |access-date=6 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119095545/http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=39036&Cr=Afghan&Cr1 |archive-date=19 January 2012 |url-status=live}}{{cite news |author=Damien Pearse and agencies |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/feb/04/afghan-civilian-death-toll-record |title=Afghan civilian death toll reaches record high |work=Guardian |date=4 February 2012 |access-date=4 February 2012 |location=London |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131108102109/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/feb/04/afghan-civilian-death-toll-record |archive-date=8 November 2013 |url-status=live}}{{cite news |title=Sharp rise in children killed and maimed in Afghan war, UN report reveals |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/feb/06/afghanistan-civilian-casualties-children-killed-maimed-un-report |access-date=6 February 2017 |work=The Guardian |date=6 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170206065518/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/feb/06/afghanistan-civilian-casualties-children-killed-maimed-un-report |archive-date=6 February 2017 |url-status=live}}{{cite news |url=http://unama.unmissions.org/Default.aspx?tabid=1783&ctl=Details&mid=1882&ItemID=12602 |work=United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan |title=Citing rising death toll, UN urges better protection of Afghan civilians |date=9 March 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726085402/http://unama.unmissions.org/Default.aspx?tabid=1783&ctl=Details&mid=1882&ItemID=12602 |archive-date=26 July 2011}}{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/09/26/afghanistan.deaths/ |title=August deadliest month of 2009 for Afghan civilians, UN says |publisher=CNN |date=26 September 2009 |access-date=14 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170619211147/http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/09/26/afghanistan.deaths/ |archive-date=19 June 2017 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all}} The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) started publishing civilian casualty figures in 2008. These figures attribute approximately 41% of civilian casualties to government aligned forces in 2008; this percentage lowers to approximately 18% in 2015.{{Cite journal |last=King |first=Anthony |date=4 November 2016 |title=Social science goes to war: the Human Terrain System in Iraq and Afghanistan |editor-first1=Montgomery |editor-last1=McFate |editor-first2=Janice H. |editor-last2=Laurence |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1468-2346.12765 |journal=International Affairs |volume=92 |issue=6 |pages=1525–1526 |doi=10.1111/1468-2346.12765 |issn=0020-5850|url-access=subscription }}

Civilian deaths caused by non-Afghan Coalition forces were low later in the war after most foreign troops were withdrawn and the coalition shifted to airstrikes. For example, in 2015 pro-government forces caused 17% of civilian deaths and injuries – including United States and NATO troops, which were responsible for only 2% of the casualties.{{cite news |last1=Jolly |first1=David |title=Afghanistan Had Record Civilian Casualties in 2015, U.N. Says |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/15/world/asia/afghanistan-record-civilian-casualties-2015-united-nations.html?_r=0 |access-date=6 February 2017 |work=The New York Times |date=14 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160218131516/http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/15/world/asia/afghanistan-record-civilian-casualties-2015-united-nations.html?_r=0 |archive-date=18 February 2016 |url-status=live}} 2016 had a similar 2% figure. Civilian deaths were higher as well in the latter part of the war, with 2015 and 2016 both consecutively breaking the record of annual civilian deaths according to the UN.{{cite news |title=Afghan civilian casualties at record high in 2016: UN |url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/02/afghan-civilian-casualties-2016-170206062807210.html |access-date=6 February 2017 |publisher=Al Jazeera English |date=6 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170206100518/http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/02/afghan-civilian-casualties-2016-170206062807210.html |archive-date=6 February 2017 |url-status=live}}

A prospective study of injuries caused by anti-personnel IEDs was reported in BMJ Open. It showed the injuries to be far worse with IEDs than with landmines, causing multiple limb amputations and lower body mutilation.{{cite journal |vauthors=Smith S et al. |date=2017 |title=Injury profile suffered by targets of antipersonnel improvised explosive devices: prospective cohort study |journal=BMJ Open |volume=7 |issue=7 |page=e014697 |doi=10.1136/bmjopen-2016-014697 |pmc=5691184 |pmid=28835410}} In an accompanying press release, BMJ considered the anti-personnel IED to cause 'superfluous injury and unnecessary suffering'. Use of weapons that cause superfluous injury and unnecessary suffering is considered a war crime.{{Cite news |date=2016 |title=Improvised explosive devices inflict much more serious injuries than land mines |language=en |work=BMJ Open |url=https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/bmjopen/suppl/2017/08/31/bmjopen-2016-014697.DC1/bmjopen-2016-014697_Press_release.pdf |access-date=2023-08-22}}

{{Main|Afghan refugees}}

File:An Afghan National Civil Order Police officer hands out clothing donated by a charity in New Jersey to children living at a refugee camp in Kabul, Afghanistan, July 28, 2011 110728-F-AK669-291.jpg

Millions of Afghans have been internally displaced or become refugees as a result of decades of conflict in Afghanistan since 1979. From 2002 to 2012, more than 5.7 million former refugees returned to Afghanistan, increasing the country's population by 25%.[http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/page?page=49e486eb6 UNHCR country operations profile – Afghanistan] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120604063834/http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/page?page=49e486eb6 |date=4 June 2012 }} unhcr.orgAfghan Refugees, Costs of War, {{cite web |url=http://costsofwar.org/article/afghan-refugees |title=Afghan Refugees | Costs of War |access-date=5 March 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130310001659/http://costsofwar.org/article/afghan-refugees |archive-date=10 March 2013}}, 2012 2.6 million Afghans remained refugees in 2021 when the Taliban took over,{{cite web |url=https://www.unhcr.org/afghanistan.html |title=Afghanistan |last=Refugees |first=United Nations High Commissioner for |website=UNHCR |access-date=30 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190730080411/https://www.unhcr.org/afghanistan.html |archive-date=30 July 2019 |url-status=live}} while another 4 million were internally displaced. Following the Taliban takeover, over 122,000 people were airlifted abroad from Kabul airport, during the evacuation from Afghanistan, including Afghans, American citizens, and other foreign citizens.{{cite news |last1=Gaouette |first1=Nicole |last2=Hansler |first2=Jennifer |last3=Starr |first3=Barbara |last4=Liebermann |first4=Oren |date=31 August 2021 |title=The last US military planes have left Afghanistan, marking the end of the United States' longest war |url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/30/politics/us-military-withdraws-afghanistan/index.html |access-date=2021-08-30 |publisher=CNN}}

{{Main|War crimes in Afghanistan|International Criminal Court investigation in Afghanistan}}

File:Gul Mudin.jpg]]

War crimes have been committed by both sides including civilian massacres, bombings of civilian targets, terrorism, use of torture and the murder of prisoners of war. Additional common crimes include theft, arson, and destruction of property not warranted by military necessity.

The Taliban committed war crimes during the war including massacres, suicide bombing, anti-personnel IED use, terrorism, and targeting civilians (such as using human shields).{{cite news |url=http://www.tolonews.com/en/afghanistan/1591-aihrc-calls-civilian-deaths-war-crime |work=Tolonews |title=AIHRC Calls Civilian Deaths War Crime |date=13 January 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110624161358/http://www.tolonews.com/en/afghanistan/1591-aihrc-calls-civilian-deaths-war-crime |archive-date=24 June 2011}}{{cite news |url=https://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070419/wl_nm/afghan_rights_dc_2 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070514111954/http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070419/wl_nm/afghan_rights_dc_2 |archive-date=14 May 2007 |title=Taliban attack civilians to spread fear: Amnesty |publisher=Reuters |date=24 April 2007 |access-date=9 December 2007}} In 2011, The New York Times reported that the Taliban was responsible for {{fraction|3|4}} of all civilian deaths in the War in Afghanistan.{{cite news |title=Afghan Rights Groups Shift Focus to Taliban |author=Rod Nordland |date=10 February 2011 |page=A6 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/10/world/asia/10afghanistan.html |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=29 January 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130614213613/http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/10/world/asia/10afghanistan.html |archive-date=14 June 2013 |url-status=live}}{{cite book |last=Kegley |first=Charles W. |title=World Politics: Trend and Transformation |author2=Shannon L Blanton |publisher=Cengage |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-495-90655-1 |page=230}} United Nations reports have consistently blamed the Taliban and other anti-government forces for the majority of civilian deaths in the conflict.{{cite web |title=Afghanistan – Protection of civilians in armed conflict midyear update: 1 January to 30 June 2021 |website=UNAMA |date=2021-07-25 |url=https://unama.unmissions.org/sites/default/files/unama_poc_midyear_report_2021_26_july.pdf |access-date=2021-08-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210726183031/https://unama.unmissions.org/sites/default/files/unama_poc_midyear_report_2021_26_july.pdf |archive-date=2021-07-26 |url-status=live}} Other crimes include mass rape and executing surrendered soldiers.{{cite web |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2015/10/afghanistan-harrowing-accounts-emerge-of-the-talibans-reign-of-terror-in-kunduz/ |title=Afghanistan: Harrowing accounts emerge of the Taliban's reign of terror in Kunduz |date=1 October 2015 |website=Amnesty International |access-date=4 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170209230457/https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2015/10/afghanistan-harrowing-accounts-emerge-of-the-talibans-reign-of-terror-in-kunduz/ |archive-date=9 February 2017 |url-status=live}}{{cite news |last1=Coren |first1=Anna |last2=Sidhu |first2=Sandi |last3=Lister |first3=Tim |last4=Bina |first4=Abdul |title=Taliban fighters execute 22 Afghan commandos as they try to surrender |url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/13/asia/afghanistan-taliban-commandos-killed-intl-hnk/index.html |access-date=28 July 2021 |work=CNN |date=14 July 2021}}

War crimes committed by the Coalition, Afghan security forces, and Northern Alliance included massacres, prisoner mistreatment, and killings of civilians. Amnesty International accused the Pentagon of covering up evidence related to war crimes, torture and unlawful killings in Afghanistan.{{cite news |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/obamas-pentagon-covered-up-war-crimes-in-afghanistan-says-amnesty-international |title=Obama's Pentagon Covered Up War Crimes in Afghanistan, Says Amnesty International |access-date=8 November 2014 |publisher=The Daily Beast |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170826191612/http://www.thedailybeast.com/obamas-pentagon-covered-up-war-crimes-in-afghanistan-says-amnesty-international |archive-date=26 August 2017 |url-status=live}} Notable incidents include the Dasht-i-Leili massacre,{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/sep/14/afghanistan.lukeharding |title=Afghan Massacre Haunts Pentagon |work=The Guardian |date=14 September 2002 |location=London |first=Luke |last=Harding |access-date=12 May 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130826161631/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/sep/14/afghanistan.lukeharding |archive-date=26 August 2013 |url-status=live}} Bagram torture and prisoner abuse,{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/20/international/asia/20abuse.html?ei=5088&en=4579c146cb14cfd6&ex=1274241600&pagewanted=all |title=In US Report, Brutal Details of 2 Afghan Inmates' Deaths |newspaper=The New York Times |author-link=Tim Golden (journalist) |author=Tim Golden |date=20 May 2005 |archive-date=25 January 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080125012206/http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/20/international/asia/20abuse.html?ei=5088&en=4579c146cb14cfd6&ex=1274241600&pagewanted=all |url-status=live}} Kandahar massacre,{{cite news |title=Army drops one charge against soldier accused in Afghan massacre |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-crime-afghanistan-idUSBRE8501D520120601 |publisher=Reuters |date=1 June 2012 |access-date=17 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120606162320/http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/01/us-usa-crime-afghanistan-idUSBRE8501D520120601 |archive-date=6 June 2012 |url-status=live}} among others.

In 2020, the International Criminal Court investigation in Afghanistan formally commenced, investigating war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by all parties in Afghanistan since 1 May 2013.{{cite news |title=ICC authorises investigation into alleged Afghanistan war crimes |date=2020-03-05 |newspaper=Al Jazeera English |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/03/icc-authorises-investigation-alleged-afghanistan-war-crimes-200305101406253.html |access-date=2020-03-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200305161747/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/03/icc-authorises-investigation-alleged-afghanistan-war-crimes-200305101406253.html |archive-date=2020-03-05 |url-status=live}} On 22 March 2023, the British government launched a public inquiry to investigate reports of alleged unlawful killings by UKSF personnel during the War in Afghanistan.{{Cite news |date=2023-03-22 |title=Afghan unlawful killings inquiry 'critical to restoring reputation of armed forces' |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-65027239 |url-status=live |access-date=2023-03-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230327060943/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-65027239 |archive-date=2023-03-27}} Judge Charles Haddon-Cave chairs the public inquiry.{{Cite web |date=2023-03-22 |title=UK opens inquiry into unlawful killing claims in Afghanistan |url=https://apnews.com/article/uk-afghanistan-inquiry-unlawful-killings-b5c98d832d2b1d8382a3b1bcaf4da9cc |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230327224815/https://apnews.com/article/uk-afghanistan-inquiry-unlawful-killings-b5c98d832d2b1d8382a3b1bcaf4da9cc |archive-date=2023-03-27 |access-date=2023-03-27 |website=Associated Press |language=en}}

{{Main|Opium production in Afghanistan}}

In 2000, Afghanistan accounted for an estimated 75% of the world's opium supply,{{cite book |last=Thourni |first=Francisco E. |title=The Organized Crime Community: Essays in Honor of Alan A. Block |publisher=Springer |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-387-39019-2 |editor=Frank Bovenkerk |page=130}} which was the Taliban's largest source of revenue through taxes on opium exports.{{cite book |last=Chouvy |first=Pierre-Arnaud |title=Opium: uncovering the politics of the poppy |publisher=Harvard University Press |year=2010 |pages=52ff}} Mullah Omar banned opium cultivation in 2001,{{cite book |last=Lyman |first=Michael D. |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_2901437744506/page/309 |title=Drugs in Society: Causes, Concepts and Control |publisher=Elsevier |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-4377-4450-7 |page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_2901437744506/page/309 309]}} which observers said was an attempt to gain international recognition, raise opium prices and increase profit from the sale of large existing stockpiles. Opium production increased in the years following the October 2001 invasion, with Afghanistan producing 90% of the world's opium by 2005.{{cite news |title=Afghanistan riddled with drug ties |publisher=Christian Science Monitor |url=http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0513/p01s04-wosc.html |url-status=live |access-date=27 September 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930081143/http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0513/p01s04-wosc.html |archive-date=30 September 2007}} According to a 2018 SIGAR report, the US had spent $8.6 billion since 2002 to stop Afghanistan's drug trade. A May 2021 SIGAR report estimated that the Taliban earned 60% of their revenue from the trade, while UN officials estimated more than $400 million was earned by the Taliban between 2018 and 2019, however other experts estimated that the Taliban earned at most $40 million annually.{{cite news |date=16 August 2021 |title=Profits and poppy: Afghanistan's illegal drug trade a boon for Taliban |newspaper=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/profits-poppy-afghanistans-illegal-drug-trade-boon-taliban-2021-08-16/ |access-date=18 August 2021}}

{{Further|History of the Afghan Armed Forces (2002–2021)}}

Observers have argued that the mission in Afghanistan was hampered by a lack of agreement on objectives, a lack of resources, lack of coordination, too much focus on the central government at the expense of local and provincial governments, and too much focus on the country instead of the region.{{cite web |url=http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/publication/18911/afghanistan.html |title=Afghanistan: Changing the Frame, Changing the Game. Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center |publisher=Belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu |access-date=2 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110804021830/http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/publication/18911/afghanistan.html |archive-date=4 August 2011 |url-status=live}}

According to Cara Korte, climate change played a significant role in increasing instability in Afghanistan and strengthening the Taliban. More than 60% of the Afghan population depend on agriculture and Afghanistan is the sixth most vulnerable country to climate change in the world according to the United Nations Environment Program and Afghanistan's National Environmental Protection Agency. The Taliban used resentment over government inaction to climate change-induced drought and flooding to strengthen its support and Afghans were able to earn more money supporting the Taliban than from farming.{{cite news |last1=KORTE |first1=CARA |title=How climate change helped strengthen the Taliban |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/climate-change-taliban-strengthen/ |access-date=6 September 2021 |agency=CBC |date=20 August 2021}}

Despite efforts to eradicate poppy, Afghanistan remained the world's largest producer of illicit opiate by the end of the war. The Taliban profited at least tens of millions of dollars from opium and heroin annually as of 2018.{{Cite news |last=Landay |first=Jonathan |date=2021-08-16 |title=Profits and poppy: Afghanistan's illegal drug trade a boon for Taliban |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/profits-poppy-afghanistans-illegal-drug-trade-boon-taliban-2021-08-16/ |access-date=2023-02-05}}

Journalist Jason Burke notes "strategic mistakes by the US and allies in the immediate aftermath of the 2001 invasion" as being a reason why the war went on for so long. He also noted "missed early opportunities" to "construct a stable political settlement."{{Cite news |last=Burke |first=Jason |date=2018-03-04 |title=Why is the world at war? |language=en-GB |work=The Observer |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/mar/04/why-is-world-at-war-syria-democratic-republic-congo-yemen-afghanistan-ukraine |access-date=2023-02-05 |issn=0029-7712}}

Steve Coll believes that "No small part of N.A.T.O.'s ultimate failure to stabilize Afghanistan flowed from the disastrous decision by George W. Bush to invade Iraq in 2003. ... The Taliban's comeback, America's initial inattention to it, and the attraction for some Afghans and Pakistanis of the Taliban's ideology of national resistance under Islamic principles—all these sources of failure cannot be understood in isolation from the Iraq war." Coll further notes that neither the Bush nor the Obama administrations achieved consensus on key questions such as the relative importance of nation-building versus counterterrorism, whether the stability of Afghanistan took priority over that of Pakistan, or the role of the drug trade, although "the failure to solve the riddle of ISI and to stop its covert interference in Afghanistan became ... the greatest strategic failure of the American war."{{cite book |author-link=Steve Coll |last=Coll |first=Steve |title=Directorate S: The C.I.A. and America's Secret Wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan |publisher=Penguin Group |year=2019 |isbn=9780143132509 |pages=661–667 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G-KCDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA661}}

File:Barack Obama, Hamid Karzai & Asif Ali Zardari after trilateral meeting 5-6-09 2.jpg

In 2009, Afghanistan was ranked as the world's second most-corrupt country.{{cite web |url=http://www.transparency.org/policy_research/surveys_indices/cpi/2009/cpi_2009_table |title=Research – CPI – Overview |publisher=Transparency.org |access-date=17 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130506125221/http://www.transparency.org/research/cpi/overview |archive-date=6 May 2013 |url-status=dead}} A lengthy report by SIGAR, and other findings, found that spiraling corruption in Afghanistan during the 2000s was not halted by the United States. During this time, many elite figures in the country had effectively become kleptocrats, while ordinary Afghans were struggling.

It has been argued that the restoration of monarchy in Afghanistan should not have been vetoed, as this may have provided stability to the country.{{cite web |url=https://thecritic.co.uk/could-monarchy-have-saved-afghanistan/ |title=Could monarchy have saved Afghanistan? |first1=Gawain |last1=Towler |website=The Critic Magazine |date=17 August 2021}}{{cite journal |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Opinion/2010/0630/Bold-move-to-save-Afghanistan-Bring-back-a-king |title=Bold move to save Afghanistan: Bring back a king |journal=Christian Science Monitor |date=30 June 2010 |first1=Shireen K. |last1=Burki}}{{cite web |url=https://www.foreignpolicyjournal.com/2018/05/17/a-return-to-monarchy-could-solve-the-afghan-conflict/ |title=A Return to Monarchy Could Solve the Afghan Conflict |publisher=Foreign Policy Journal |date=17 May 2018 |first1=Wahab |last1=Raofi |access-date=2022-05-04}}{{cite web |last1=Caro |first1=Carlo J.V. |title=Afghan Kings and the Failure of U.S Military Intervention |url=https://www.realcleardefense.com/articles/2020/02/12/afghan_kings_and_the_failure_of_us_military_intervention_115034.html |website=RealClearDefense |date=February 12, 2020 |access-date=29 June 2022}}

Pakistan played a central role in the conflict. A 2010 report published by the London School of Economics says that Pakistan's ISI has an "official policy" of support to the Taliban.{{cite news |url=http://english.aljazeera.net/mritems/Documents/2010/6/13/20106138531279734lse-isi-taliban.pdf |via=Al Jazeera |title=The Sun in the Sky: The relationship between Pakistan's ISI and Afghan insurgents |first1=Matt |last1=Waldman |date=June 2010 |publisher=Crisis States Research Centre |access-date=12 December 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101226000552/http://english.aljazeera.net/mritems/Documents/2010/6/13/20106138531279734lse-isi-taliban.pdf |archive-date=26 December 2010 |url-status=live}} "Pakistan appears to be playing a double-game of astonishing magnitude", the report states. Regarding the Afghan War documents leak, Der Spiegel wrote that "the documents clearly show that the Pakistani intelligence agency Inter-Services Intelligence (usually known as the ISI) is the most important accomplice the Taliban has outside of Afghanistan."{{cite news |first1=Matthias |last1=Gebauer |first2=John |last2=Goetz |first3=Hans |last3=Hoyng |first4=Susanne |last4=Koelbl |first5=Marcel |last5=Rosenbach |first6=Gregor Peter |last6=Schmitz |title=Explosive Leaks Provide Image of War from Those Fighting It: The Secret Enemy in Pakistan |newspaper=Der Spiegel |date=25 July 2010 |url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,708314-5,00.html |access-date=26 July 2010}} Amrullah Saleh, former director of Afghanistan's intelligence service, stated, "We talk about all these proxies [Taliban, Haqqanis] but not the master of proxies, which is the Pakistan army. The question is what does Pakistan's army want to achieve ...? They want to gain influence in the region."{{cite news |url=http://vimeo.com/18018836 |title=Jamestown Foundation Terrorism Conference 2010, Amrullah Saleh speech |year=2010 |access-date=3 February 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511171043/http://vimeo.com/18018836 |archive-date=11 May 2011 |url-status=live}} Pakistan's role can be traced back to the Soviet war in which they funded the Mujahideen against the Soviets. Pakistan's objective then as it is now is to ensure that Afghanistan has a regime friendly to their interests and will provide "geopolitical depth in any future conflict with India."{{Cite book |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.2458/azu_acku_pamphlet_ds371_2_w45_w37_1991 |title=War and peace in Afghanistan : the Pakistani role / Marvin G. Weinbaum. |date=1991 |publisher=University of Arizona Libraries |doi=10.2458/azu_acku_pamphlet_ds371_2_w45_w37_1991}}

Iran also sought to influence the war. During the course of the war, the US took out two of Iran's regional enemies: Saddam Hussein through the Iraq War as well as the Taliban. Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are other 'dominant players' that influenced the war. Iran and the Taliban formed ties, with Russian assistance as well, to 'bleed' the American force. Iran and Russia, emboldened by their alliance in the Syrian Civil War, initiated a 'proxy war' in Afghanistan against the US. The Taliban received economic support from Dubai, United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. Pakistan has given economic support and encouraged increased Iran-Taliban ties.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/05/world/asia/iran-afghanistan-taliban.html |title=In Afghanistan, US Exits, and Iran Comes In |last=Gall |first=Carlotta |date=5 August 2017 |work=The New York Times |access-date=9 June 2019 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171204075417/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/05/world/asia/iran-afghanistan-taliban.html |archive-date=4 December 2017 |url-status=live}}

China has been quietly expanding its influence. Since 2010 China has signed mining contracts with Kabul{{cite web |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/trump-says-u-s-losing-afghan-war-tense-meeting-generals-n789006 |title=Trump says US losing war, compares Afghanistan to NYC restaurant consultant |website=NBC News |date=2 August 2017 |first1=Carol E. |last1=Lee |first2=Courtney |last2=Kube |access-date=10 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190608044917/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/trump-says-u-s-losing-afghan-war-tense-meeting-generals-n789006 |archive-date=8 June 2019 |url-status=live}} and is building a military base in Badakshan to counter regional terrorism (from the ETIM).{{cite web |url=https://thediplomat.com/2018/06/is-china-bringing-peace-to-afghanistan/ |title=Is China Bringing Peace to Afghanistan? |last=Ramachandran |first=Sudha |date=June 20, 2018 |website=The Diplomat |access-date=10 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190704114518/https://thediplomat.com/2018/06/is-china-bringing-peace-to-afghanistan/ |archive-date=4 July 2019 |url-status=live}} China has donated billions of dollars in aid over the years to Afghanistan, which plays a strategic role in the Belt and Road Initiative. Additionally, after 2011 Pakistan expanded its economic and military ties to China as a hedge against dependency on the US. Coll observes that "Overall, the war left China with considerable latitude in Central Asia, without having made any expenditure of blood, treasure, or reputation."{{cite book |author-link=Steve Coll |last=Coll |first=Steve |title=Directorate S: The C.I.A. and America's Secret Wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan |publisher=Penguin Group |year=2019 |isbn=9780143132509 |pages=559–560, 663 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G-KCDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA559}}

In December 2019 The Washington Post published 2,000 pages of government documents, mostly transcripts of interviews with more than 400 key figures involved in prosecuting the Afghanistan war. According to the Post and The Guardian, the documents (dubbed the Afghanistan Papers) showed that US officials consistently and deliberately misled the American public about the unwinnable nature of the conflict,{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/dec/09/afghan-papers-reveal-us-public-were-misled-about-unwinnable-war |title=Afghanistan papers reveal US public were misled about unwinnable war |last=Beaumont |first=Peter |date=9 December 2019 |work=The Guardian |access-date=9 December 2019}} and some commentators and foreign policy experts subsequently drew comparisons to the release of the Pentagon Papers.{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2019/investigations/afghanistan-papers/afghanistan-war-confidential-documents/ |title=The Afghanistan Papers: A Secret History of the War |last=Whitlock |first=Craig |date=9 December 2019 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=9 December 2019}}

The Taliban's victory was facilitated in support from Pakistan. Although Pakistan was a major US ally before and after the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan, elements of the Pakistan government (including the military and intelligence services) have for decades maintained strong logistical and tactical ties with Taliban militants, and this support helped support the insurgency in Afghanistan.{{cite news |author= |title=Pakistan's hand in the Taliban's victory |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/08/18/pakistan-hand-taliban-victory/ |newspaper=Washington Post |location=Washington, D.C. |date=18 August 2021 |access-date=27 August 2021}}{{cite news |author= |title=The Real Winner of the Afghan War? It's Not Who You Think |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/26/world/asia/afghanistan-pakistan-taliban.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210826071319/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/26/world/asia/afghanistan-pakistan-taliban.html |archive-date=2021-08-26 |url-access=limited |url-status=live |work=The New York Times |location=New York |date=26 August 2021 |access-date=27 August 2021}} For example, the Haqqani Network, a Taliban affiliate based on Pakistan, had strong support from Inter-Services Intelligence, the Pakistan intelligence agency. Taliban leaders found a safe haven in Pakistan, lived in the country, transacted business and earned funds there, and received medical treatment there. Some elements of the Pakistani establishment sympathized with Taliban ideology, and many Pakistan officials considered the Taliban as an asset against India. Bruce Riedel noted that "The Pakistan Army believes Afghanistan provides strategic depth against India, which is their obsession."

In the initial aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks, Iranian forces, led by Revolutionary Guard Commander Qassem Suleimani initially cooperated, secretly, with American officials against Al-Qaeda operatives and the Taliban, but that cooperation ended after the Axis of Evil Speech on January 29, 2002, which included calling Iran a major state sponsor of terror and threat to peace in the region. Afterwards, Iranian forces became increasingly hostile to American forces in the region.

Antonio Giustozzi, a senior research fellow at Royal United Services Institute on terrorism and conflict, wrote, "Both the Russians and the Iranians helped the Taliban advance at a breakneck pace in May–August 2021. They contributed to funding and equipping them, but perhaps even more importantly they helped them by brokering deals with parties, groups, and personalities close to either country, or even both. [...] The Revolutionary Guards helped the Taliban's advance in western Afghanistan, including by lobbying various strongmen and militia commanders linked to Iran not to resist the Taliban."{{cite web |last1=Giustozzi |first1=Antonio |title=Russia and Iran: Disappointed Friends of the Taliban? |url=https://www.rusi.org/explore-our-research/publications/commentary/russia-and-iran-disappointed-friends-taliban |publisher=Royal United Services Institute |date=30 September 2021}}

{{Main|Reactions to the Afghanistan War (2001–2021)}}

File:Defense.gov News Photo 111120-M-KG816-186 - U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Todd Collins interacts with Afghan children near Patrol Base Atull in Helmand province Afghanistan on Nov. 20 2011.jpg

In November 2001, the CNN reported widespread relief amongst Kabul's residents after the Taliban fled the city, with young men shaving off their beards and women taking off their burqas.{{cite news |url=http://www-cgi.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/central/11/14/ret.afghan.kabul/index.html |title=Kabul residents relish new freedoms |date=14 November 2001 |publisher=CNN |access-date=2 January 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150123132015/http://www-cgi.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/central/11/14/ret.afghan.kabul/index.html |archive-date=23 January 2015}} Later that month the BBC's longtime Kabul correspondent Kate Clark reported that "almost all women in Kabul are still choosing to veil" but that many felt hopeful that the ousting of the Taliban would improve their safety and access to food.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1674146.stm |title=BBC News {{!}} MIDDLE EAST {{!}} Kabul women keep the veil |last=Clark |first=Kate |website=news.bbc.co.uk |date=24 November 2001 |access-date=26 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170226134652/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1674146.stm |archive-date=26 February 2017 |url-status=live}}

A 2006 WPO opinion poll found that the majority of Afghans endorsed America's military presence, with 83% of Afghans stating that they had a favorable view of the US military forces in their country. Only 17% gave an unfavorable view. 82% of Afghans, among all ethnic groups including Pashtuns, stated that the overthrowing of the Taliban was a good thing. However, the majority of Afghans held negative views on Pakistan and most Afghans also stated that they believe that the Pakistani government was allowing the Taliban to operate from its soil.{{cite web |url=http://drum.lib.umd.edu/bitstream/handle/1903/10127/Afghanistan_Jan06_art2.pdf;jsessionid=51A568EB80A658471A265A1D06EF8ADB?sequence=3 |title=WPO Poll: Afghan Public Overwhelmingly Rejects al-Qaeda, Taliban |date=30 January 2006 |access-date=2 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170102172723/http://drum.lib.umd.edu/bitstream/handle/1903/10127/Afghanistan_Jan06_art2.pdf;jsessionid=51A568EB80A658471A265A1D06EF8ADB?sequence=3 |archive-date=2 January 2017 |url-status=live}}

A 2015 survey by Langer Research Associates found that 80% of Afghans held the view that it was a good thing for the United States to overthrow the Taliban in 2001. More Afghans blamed the Taliban or al-Qaeda for the country's violence (53%) than those who blame the US (12%).{{cite web |url=http://acsor-surveys.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Afghan-Futures-Wave-6-Analysis_FINAL-v2.pdf |title=Afghan Futures: A National Public Opinion Survey |date=29 January 2015 |page=4 |access-date=2 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170329093740/http://acsor-surveys.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Afghan-Futures-Wave-6-Analysis_FINAL-v2.pdf |archive-date=29 March 2017 |url-status=live}} A 2019 survey by The Asia Foundation found that 13.4% of Afghans had sympathy for the Taliban while 85.1% of respondents had no sympathy for the group. 88.6% of urban residents had no sympathy compared to 83.9% of rural residents.{{cite web |title=Afghanistan in 2019 A Survey of the Afghan People |url=https://asiafoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/2019_Afghan_Survey_Full-Report_.pdf |access-date=28 August 2021 |website=The Asia Foundation |archive-date=25 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210825085434/https://asiafoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/2019_Afghan_Survey_Full-Report_.pdf |url-status=dead}}

File:June 22, 2007 protest in Quebec City against Canada's involvement in the Afghan war.jpg

{{Main|International public opinion on the war in Afghanistan}}

In October 2001 when the invasion began, polls indicated that about 88% of Americans and about 65% of Britons backed military action.{{sfn|AEI|2008}} An Ipsos-Reid poll conducted between November and December 2001 showed that majorities in Canada (66%), France (60%), Germany (60%), Italy (58%), and the UK (65%) approved of US airstrikes while majorities in Argentina (77%), China (52%), South Korea (50%), Spain (52%), and Turkey (70%) opposed them.{{sfn|AEI|2008|p=157}}

In 2008 there was a strong opposition to the War in Afghanistan in 21 of 24 countries surveyed. Only in the US and Great Britain did half the people support the war, with a larger percentage (60%) in Australia.{{cite web |url=http://pewglobal.org/reports/display.php?ReportID=260 |title=Global Economic Gloom – China and India Notable Exceptions |date=12 June 2008 |work=Pew Research Center's Global Attitudes Project |access-date=6 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100112083826/http://pewglobal.org/reports/display.php?ReportID=260 |archive-date=12 January 2010 |url-status=live}} Of the seven NATO countries in the survey, not one showed a majority in favor of keeping NATO troops in Afghanistan – one, the US, came close to a majority (50%). Of the other six NATO countries, five had majorities of their population wanting NATO troops removed from Afghanistan as soon as possible. An April 2011 Pew Research Center poll showed little change in American views, with about 50% saying that the effort was going very well or fairly well and only 44% supporting NATO troop presence in Afghanistan.{{cite web |title=Goal of Libyan Operation Less Clear to Public |url=http://people-press.org/2011/04/05/goal-of-libyan-operation-less-clear-to-public/ |newspaper=Pew Research Center |date=5 April 2011 |access-date=3 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110505060223/http://people-press.org/2011/04/05/goal-of-libyan-operation-less-clear-to-public/ |archive-date=5 May 2011 |url-status=live}}

{{Further|Protests against the war in Afghanistan}}

The war was the subject of large protests around the world, starting with the large-scale demonstrations in the days leading up to the invasion and every year since. Many protesters considered the bombing and invasion of Afghanistan to be unjustified aggression.Adams, Harold J. [http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latest-news/protesters-oppose-sending-more-troops-afghanistan Protesters oppose sending more troops to Afghanistan.] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100114141128/http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latest-news/protesters-oppose-sending-more-troops-afghanistan |date=14 January 2010}} Louisville Courier-Journal. 6 December 2009. Dozens of organizations held a national march for peace in Washington, D.C., on 20 March 2010.{{cite news |author=Janie Lorber |date=20 March 2010 |title=Saturday Word: Health Care (and Finance) |url=http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/20/saturday-word-health-care-and-finance/ |work=The New York Times |access-date=29 January 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140105164156/http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/20/saturday-word-health-care-and-finance/ |archive-date=5 January 2014 |url-status=live}}

{{Main|Aftermath of the Afghanistan War (2001–2021)}}

{{Main|Recognition of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan|List of decrees by Hibatullah Akhundzada}}

File:Daily Life in Afghanistan's Capital 30.jpg

On 7 September 2021, an interim government headed by Mohammad Hassan Akhund as Prime Minister was declared by the Taliban.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-58479750 |title=Taliban announce new government for Afghanistan |work=BBC News |date=7 September 2021}}

{{Main|Republican insurgency in Afghanistan}}

On 17 August 2021, Vice President Saleh, citing provisions of the Constitution of Afghanistan, declared himself President of Afghanistan from a base of operations in the Panjshir Valley, which had not been taken by Taliban forces, and vowed to continue military operations against the Taliban from there.{{cite news |title=Panjshir flies flag of resistance again; Amrullah says he is President of Afghanistan |url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/world/panjshir-flies-flag-of-resistance-again-amrullah-says-he-is-president-of-afghanistan-298553 |access-date=17 August 2021 |work=Tribune India |date=17 August 2021}} His claim to the presidency was endorsed by Ahmad Massoud and Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Minister of Defence Bismillah Khan Mohammadi. By 6 September the Taliban had regained control over most of the valley, but armed resistance continued in the upper valleys. Clashes in the valley mostly ceased by mid-September.{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/17/world/asia/panjshir-resistance-taliban-massoud.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20211228/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/17/world/asia/panjshir-resistance-taliban-massoud.html |archive-date=2021-12-28 |url-access=limited |title=In Panjshir, Few Signs of an Active Resistance, or Any Fight at All |newspaper=The New York Times |date=17 September 2021 |last1=Huylebroek |first1=Jim |last2=Blue |first2=Victor J.}}{{cbignore}} The leaders of the resistance, Saleh and Massoud reportedly fled to neighboring Tajikistan in late September.{{cite news |title=Afghan resistance has sanctuary in Tajikistan, but fighting Taliban a 'non-viable prospect' |url=https://www.france24.com/en/asia-pacific/20211004-afghan-resistance-has-sanctuary-in-tajikistan-but-fighting-taliban-a-non-viable-prospect |agency=FRANCE24.English |website=France 24 |language=en |date=4 October 2021 |access-date=5 October 2021 |publication-date=}} However, fighting between Taliban and pro-republican forces continued in other provinces. Several regions had become the site of a guerrilla campaign by early 2022.{{cite news |title=Taliban's Arrest Of Ethnic Uzbek Commander Sparks Clashes In Northern Afghanistan |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/taliban-arrest-uzbek-commander-clashes/31677178.html |author=Bruce Pannier |work=Radio Free Europe |date=29 January 2022 |access-date=10 February 2022}} The NRF launched an offensive in May 2022, reportedly retaking territory in Panjshir.{{Cite web |date=2022-05-07 |title=Offensive launched against Taliban rule in Panjshir: Armed group |url=https://english.alarabiya.net/News/world/2022/05/07/Offensive-launched-against-Taliban-rule-in-Panjshir-Armed-group |access-date=2022-05-10 |website=Al Arabiya English |language=en}} Other pro-republican rebel groups also emerged, including the "Ahmad Khan Samangani Front",{{cite web |title=چه کسانی در سمنگان با طالبان می‌جنگند؟ |url=https://www.independentpersian.com/node/198491/%D8%B3%DB%8C%D8%A7%D8%B3%DB%8C-%D9%88-%D8%A7%D8%AC%D8%AA%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%B9%DB%8C/%DA%86%D9%87-%DA%A9%D8%B3%D8%A7%D9%86%DB%8C-%D8%AF%D8%B1-%D8%B3%D9%85%D9%86%DA%AF%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%A8%D8%A7-%D8%B7%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%86-%D9%85%DB%8C%E2%80%8C%D8%AC%D9%86%DA%AF%D9%86%D8%AF%D8%9F |date=8 December 2021 |access-date=10 February 2022 |website=ایندیپندنت فارسی |language=fa}} "Afghan Freedom Front",{{Cite web |date=2022-03-12 |title=جبهه آزادی افغانستان اعلام موجودیت کرد |url=https://www.independentpersian.com/node/221751/%D8%B3%DB%8C%D8%A7%D8%B3%DB%8C-%D9%88-%D8%A7%D8%AC%D8%AA%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%B9%DB%8C/%D8%AC%D8%A8%D9%87%D9%87-%D8%A2%D8%B2%D8%A7%D8%AF%DB%8C-%D8%A7%D9%81%D8%BA%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%B3%D8%AA%D8%A7%D9%86%C2%A0%D8%A7%D8%B9%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%85-%D9%85%D9%88%D8%AC%D9%88%D8%AF%DB%8C%D8%AA-%DA%A9%D8%B1%D8%AF |access-date=2022-03-24 |website=ایندیپندنت فارسی |language=fa}} "Afghanistan Islamic National & Liberation Movement", and several smaller factions.{{Cite web |title=Afghan 'Fighting Season' Ushers in New Anti-Taliban Groups |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/afghan-fighting-season-ushers-in-new-anti-taliban-groups/6542148.html |access-date=2022-05-07 |website=Voice of America|date=27 April 2022 }}

At least 14 armed anti-Taliban resistance groups, including

the National Resistance Front, Afghanistan Freedom Front, Supreme Resistance Council, Freedom Uprising{{cite web |url=https://unicri.org/Publication/Taliban-Afghanistan-Assessing-New-Threats|title=The Taliban in Afghanistan - Assessing New Threats to the Region and Beyond|date= October 2022}} are active in Afghanistan.

{{Main|Islamic State–Taliban conflict}}

Following the 2021 Kabul airport attack conducted by the terrorist group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant – Khorasan Province (a branch of the ISIL), the US said it could work with the Taliban to fight against the ISIS terrorists as part of the International military intervention against ISIL.{{Cite news |last1=Pannett |first1=Rachel |last2=Francis |first2=Ellen |last3=Berger |first3=Miriam |last4=Westfall |first4=Sammy |last5=Villegas |first5=Paulina |date=2021-09-02 |title=U.S. could work with Taliban against terrorists, Pentagon says |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/09/02/afghanistan-kabul-taliban-live-updates/ |access-date=2021-12-21}}

As of October 2024, IS-KP is the largest and strongest of all the terror groups active in Afghanistan,{{cite web |url=https://www.crisisgroup.org/asia/south-asia/afghanistan/afghanistans-security-challenges-under-taliban|title=Afghanistan's Security Challenges under the Taliban|date=12 August 2022}} with the Taliban appearing to

view IS-KP as the primary threat to their rule.{{cite web |url=https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/IF10604|title=Terrorist Groups in Afghanistan|date=2 April 2024}}

As many as 150,000 Afghans who assisted the United States remained in Afghanistan, including individuals who worked closely with US military forces.{{cite news |title=Nearly two years later, Afghan allies still left hoping for help |url=https://www.militarytimes.com/home/2023/08/22/nearly-two-years-later-afghan-allies-still-left-hoping-for-help/ |work=Military Times |date=22 August 2023}} Hundreds of former Afghan special forces who fought alongside British troops in Afghanistan have been barred from resettling in the UK.{{cite news |title=Elite Afghan commandos 'betrayed' by the British and left behind to be hunted down |url=https://news.sky.com/story/elite-afghan-commandos-betrayed-by-the-british-and-left-behind-to-be-hunted-down-12997241 |work=Sky News |date=1 November 2023}}{{cite news |title=Murdered, tortured or in hiding from the Taliban: The special forces abandoned by Britain |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/afghan-special-forces-triples-abandoned-britain-b2435597.html |work=The Independent |date=1 November 2023}} One former UK Special Forces officer told the BBC that "At a time when certain actions by UK Special Forces are under investigation by a public inquiry, their headquarters also had the power to prevent former Afghan Special Forces colleagues and potential witnesses to these actions from getting safely to the UK."{{cite news |title=Special forces blocked UK resettlement applications from elite Afghan troops |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-68332923 |work=BBC News |date=19 February 2024}}

Following the Taliban takeover, western nations suspended humanitarian aid and the World Bank and International Monetary Fund also halted payments to Afghanistan.{{cite news |title=China urges World Bank, IMF to help Afghanistan |url=https://www.news24.com/news24/world/news/china-urges-world-bank-imf-to-help-afghanistan-20211028 |work=News24 |date=28 October 2021}}{{cite news |title=Afghanistan Facing Famine: UN, World Bank, US Should Adjust Sanctions, Economic Policies |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/11/11/afghanistan-facing-famine# |work=Human Rights Watch |date=11 November 2021}} The Biden administration froze about $9 billion in assets belonging to the Afghan central banks, blocking the Taliban from accessing billions of dollars held in US bank accounts. In October 2021, the UN stated that more than half of Afghanistan's 39 million people faced an acute food shortage.{{cite news |title='Countdown to catastrophe': half of Afghans face hunger this winter – UN |url=https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/oct/25/countdown-to-catastrophe-half-of-afghans-face-hunger-this-winter-un |work=The Guardian |date=25 October 2021}} On 11 November 2021, the Human Rights Watch reported that Afghanistan is facing widespread famine due to collapsed economy and broken banking system. World leaders pledged $1.2 billion in humanitarian aid to Afghanistan.{{cite news |title=Taliban blames U.S. as 1 million Afghan kids face death by starvation |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/afghanistan-taliban-blames-us-as-1-million-kids-face-starvation/ |work=CBS News |date=20 October 2021}} On 22 December 2021, The United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted a US-proposed resolution to help humanitarian aid reach desperate Afghans, while seeking to keep funds out of Taliban hands.{{cite web |url=https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/12/1108642 |title=Security Council paves way for aid to reach desperate Afghans |access-date=22 December 2021 |website=United Nations |date=22 December 2021}}

On 29 August 2022, U.N. humanitarian chief, Martin Griffiths, warned about Afghanistan's deepening poverty with 6 million people at risk of famine. He stated that conflict, poverty, climate shocks and food insecurity "have long been a sad reality" in Afghanistan, but almost a year after the Taliban takeover, halt to large-scale development aid have made the situation critical.{{cite web |url=https://apnews.com/article/afghanistan-russia-ukraine-nato-china-united-states-669dcbaf336cf6674fa21b3ac11bbcab |title=UN warns 6 million Afghans at risk of famine as crises grow |access-date=30 August 2022 |website=Associated Press |date=30 August 2022}}

Despite the Taliban's promise in the 2020 Doha Agreement to cut ties with Al-Qaeda and to not become a terrorist safe haven once again, serveral designated armed terrorist groups seem to be active in Afghanistan{{cite web |url=https://theconversation.com/two-years-after-taliban-takeover-why-afghanistan-still-poses-a-threat-to-the-region-and-beyond-211052|title=Two years after Taliban takeover: why Afghanistan still poses a threat to the region and beyond|date=11 August 2023}} some of them include:

• Haqqani Network (Part of the Taliban but has some sort of autonomy)
• Al-Qaeda
• Al-Qaeda in the Indian subcontinent
• Islamic State – Khorasan Province
• Pakistani Taliban
• Turkistan Islamic Party
• Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan
• Jamaat Ansarullah
• Jundullah
• Balochistan Liberation Army{{cite web |url=https://wenewsenglish.pk/ttp-bla-sanctuaries-in-afghanistan-pose-serious-threats-to-pakistan-security/|title=TTP, BLA Sanctuaries in Afghanistan Pose Serious Threat to Pakistan|date=21 March 2025}}

Additionally between 10 to 14 Pakistani extremists groups,

including: Lashkar-e-Taiba, Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan, Jaish-e-Mohammed, Al-Badr and Lashkar-e-Islam.

Although they have launched sweeping efforts at disarmament, including unprecedented house-to-house searches to hunt for weapons and confiscate materiel, the Taliban’s way of handling of these groups aims at containing them without provoking them to turn against their government.

{{Portal|Afghanistan|Modern history}}

{{div col}}

• Afghan War documents leak
• Criticism of the war on terror
• Environmental impacts of war in Afghanistan
• List of Afghanistan War (2001–2021) documentaries
• List of aviation accidents and incidents in the war in Afghanistan
• List of conflicts in Asia
• List of military operations in the war in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
• NATO logistics in the Afghan War
• The American War in Afghanistan: A History nonfiction book by Carter Malkasian 2021.
• U.S. government response to the September 11 attacks

{{Div col end}}

{{notelist}}

{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

• {{cite book |first=Steve |last=Coll |title=Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001 |date=2004 |url=https://archive.org/details/ghostwarssecreth00coll |url-access=registration |publisher=Penguin |isbn=978-1-59420-007-6 |author-link=Steve Coll}}
• {{cite book |first=Steve |last=Coll |date=2018 |title=Directorate S: The C.I.A. and America's Secret Wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan |publisher=Penguin Press |location=New York |isbn=978-1-84614-660-2}}
• {{cite book |first=Edward |last=Girardet |title=Killing the Cranes: A Reporter's Journey Through Three Decades of War in Afghanistan |year=2011 |edition=3 August 2011 |page=416 |publisher=Chelsea Green Publishing}}
• {{cite web |url=http://www.9-11commission.gov/ |title=National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States |access-date=17 February 2010 |date=20 September 2004 |publisher=9–11 Commission |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100211154714/http://www.9-11commission.gov/ |archive-date=11 February 2010}}
• {{cite book |first=James |last=Risen |title=State of War: The Secret History of the CIA and the Bush Administration |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xBFbzzGg71cC |date=4 September 2008 |publisher=Simon & Schuster UK |isbn=978-1-84737-511-7}}
• Auerswald, David P. & Stephen M. Saideman, eds. NATO in Afghanistan: Fighting Together, Fighting Alone (Princeton U.P. 2014) This book breaks down the history of the US effort in Afghanistan down by deployed commander. Also useful in this fashion are Kaplan, "The Insurgents", and "A Different Kind of War."
• Mikulaschek, Christoph and Jacob Shapiro. (2018). [https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0022002716669808 Lessons on Political Violence from America's Post-9/11 Wars]. Journal of Conflict Resolution 62(1): 174–202.
• Münch, Philipp. "Creating common sense: getting NATO to Afghanistan." Journal of Transatlantic Studies (2021): 1–29 [https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s42738-021-00067-0 online].
• {{cite book |others=BG John S. Brown |first=Richard W. |last=Stewart |title=Operation Enduring Freedom |url=http://www.history.army.mil/brochures/Afghanistan/Operation%20Enduring%20Freedom.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071214152935/http://www.history.army.mil/brochures/Afghanistan/Operation%20Enduring%20Freedom.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=14 December 2007 |year=2004 |publisher=United States Army |page=46}}
• {{cite web |url=https://www.aei.org/publication/america-and-the-war-on-terror/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150404000410/http://www.aei.org/publication/america-and-the-war-on-terror/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=4 April 2015 |title=America and the War on Terror |last=AEI |publisher=AEI Public Opinion Study |date=24 July 2008}}
• {{cite book |first=Steve |last=Call |title=Danger Close |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ObYsOXiEtxgC |date=15 January 2010 |publisher=Texas A&M University Press |isbn=978-1-60344-304-3}}
• {{cite book |last=Rashid |first=Ahmed |author-link=Ahmed Rashid |date=2022 |title=Taliban: The Power of Militant Islam in Afghanistan and Beyond |edition=3rd |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-26682-5}}
• {{cite book |last=Weigand |first=Florian |date=2022 |title=Waiting for Dignity: Legitimacy and Authority in Afghanistan |url=https://cup.columbia.edu/book/waiting-for-dignity/9780231200493 |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=978-0-231-20049-3}}
• {{cite book |first=Bob |last=Woodward |title=Obama's Wars |url=https://archive.org/details/obamasw_woo_2010_00_4700 |url-access=registration |date=27 September 2010 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |isbn=978-1-4391-7251-3}}

{{sister project links|c=Category:War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)|d=yes|q=yes|n=no|b=no|v=no|voy=no|m=no|mw=no|wikt=no|s=no|species=no}}

• [http://wardiary.wikileaks.org/ 75,000 documents] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210510090131/http://wardiary.wikileaks.org/ |date=10 May 2021 }} on Wikileaks
• {{cite episode |title=America and the Taliban |series=Frontline |series-link=Frontline (American TV program) |network=PBS |station=WGBH |date=April 4, 2023 |season=41 |number=12 |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/documentary/america-and-the-taliban/ |access-date=October 6, 2023}}

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