Background
Following theOrganization
{{See also, List of Taliban insurgency leaders, Quetta Shura As of 2018, the Taliban was composed of four differentFinances
While the pre-2001 Taliban suppressed opium production, the current insurgency "relies on opium revenues to purchase weapons, train its members, and buy support." In 2001, Afghanistan produced only 11% of the world's opium. Today it produces over 80% of the global crop, and the drug trade accounts for half of Afghanistan's GDP. However, later estimates show that drugs might not be the major source of income of the Taliban. Taxation and mineral sales under the group's shadow governments since 2001 have also been major sources. On 28 July 2009,Foreign support for the Taliban
Pakistan
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 , 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 fromRussia and Iran
Dr. Antonio Giustozzi, a senior research fellow at2001–2006 Taliban insurgency re-grouping period
{{Jihadism sidebar Following the2006 escalation
In 2006, Afghanistan began facing a wave of attacks by improvised explosives and suicide bombers, particularly after NATO took command of the fight against insurgents in spring 2006. Afghan PresidentTimeline
* June: ** 6 June: A roadside bombing leaves 2 American soldiers killed, the attack took place in the province of Nangarhar. Also a separate suicide bombing in Khost leaves three US soldiers wounded. ** 15 June: A bus carrying workers to an American base explodes killing 10 and wounding 15. The explosives were placed on the bus. * July: ** 1 July: 2 British soldiers are killed when their base came under small arms fire including rocket propelled grenades. * August: ** 8 August: 4 Canadian NATO soldiers are killed in two separate attacks. And a suicide bomber targeting a NATO convoy detonated, killing 21 people. ** 20 August: 3 American soldiers are killed and another 3 are wounded in a battle with Taliban militants after a roadside bomb hit an American patrol. * September: ** 8 September: A major suicide car bombing near the US embassy in Kabul kills 18 including 2 US soldiers. ** 10 September: The governor of Afghanistan's southeastern Paktia province is killed alongside his bodyguard and nephew when a suicide bomber detonates himself beside the governor's car. * October: ** 14 October: A suicide attack in Kandahar city leaves 8 dead including one NATO soldier.{{Cite news, url=http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/10/14/afghan.kidnap.nato/index.html , publisher=CNN , title=Two Canadians die in Afghan clash , access-date=24 May 2010 ** 15 October: 2 Canadian soldiers were killed when Taliban militants attacked2007
* The Taliban continued to favor suicide bombing as a tactic. ** In 2007 Afghanistan saw 140 more suicide bombings – more than in the past five years combined – that killed more than 300 people, many of whom were civilians. ** A UN report said the perpetrators were poorly educated, disaffected young men who were recruited by Taliban leaders in Pakistani madrassas. * Western analysts estimated that the Taliban can field about 10,000 fighters at any given time, according to a 30 October report in ''Timeline
* January: ** 23 January: A suicide bomber blew himself up outside a US base in eastern Afghanistan, killing 10 people who were waiting outside the base. * February: ** 2 February: Taliban forces raided a southern Afghan town, destroying the government center and briefly holding some elders captive. ** 19 February: The Taliban briefly seized a small town in western Afghanistan after police fled the town, the Taliban forces moved in for 30 minutes and seized three vehicles. ** 20 February: A suicide bomber blew himself up during an opening hospital ceremony injuring 2 NATO soldiers and a hospital worker. ** 27 February: 23 people were killed when a suicide bomber attacked an American military base, Bagram Airfield (BAF), in Bagram District,2008
The US warned that in 2008 the Taliban has "coalesced into a resilient insurgency", and would "maintain or even increase the scope and pace of its terrorist attacks".{{cite news, work=BBC News , url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7478513.stm, title=Taleban 'to boost Afghan attacks', date=27 June 2008 Attacks by Taliban insurgents in eastern Afghanistan increased by 40% when compared to the same period in 2007.Timeline
* February ** 24 February: Poor2009
During 2009 the Taliban regained control over the countryside of several Afghan provinces. In August 2009, Taliban commanders in the province of Helmand started issuing ''"visa"'' from the "Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan" in order to allow travel to and from the provincial capital of Lashkar Gah.Timeline
* June: ** 30 June: US Army Private First Class soldier Bowe R. Bergdahl is captured by the Taliban in Southern Afghanistan. * July: ** 18 July: The Taliban release a video showing Bergdahl being interviewed by one of his captors. * August: ** 12 August: Taliban spokesmen threaten the public not to vote in the upcoming presidential elections.{{Cite news, last=Gall , first=Carlotta , url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/13/world/asia/13kandahar.html , title=As Afghan Vote Nears, Taliban Intimidation Rises, NYT, August 12, 2009 , location=Afghanistan , work=The New York Times , date=12 August 2009 , access-date=24 April 2011 ** 15 August: 2009 NATO Afghanistan headquarters bombing: *** A suicide car bomb explodes outside NATO headquarters in2010
During 2010, the Taliban were ousted from parts of Helmand Province by the ISAFTimeline
* January: ** 17 January: ''"Kabul's day of terror"'': *** On this day, gunbattles near the presidential palace and other government buildings paralyzed the Afghan capital for hours. *** As President Karzai was swearing in his new cabinet ministers inside the presidential palace, militants performed attacks on multiple locations in Kabul, including shopping malls, a cinema and the central bank. A team of gunmen launched a spectacular assault in "commando style" with two men detonating suicide bombs and the rest fighting to the death near the gates of the presidential palace, an operation by insurgents to terrorize the Afghan capital, further demoralizing the population and lending to the impression that virtually no part of the country could be safe. The Taliban said it had deployed 20 suicide bombers in explosive vests who were also armed with heavy and light weaponry *** A western security official estimated there is a security incident in Kabul, on average, every seven to 10 days. * February: ** 26 February: Militants target hotels and guest houses in Kabul. Up to nine Indians, an Italian diplomat and a French film maker were among the dead in the worst assault on the Afghan capital for several months. A four-hour battle began with a car bombing and included suicide bombers and Taliban fighters throwing grenades. The attacks appeared to be aimed at Indian government officials and medical workers. Three Afghan police were killed, and six more officers were among the 38 people wounded in what was described as a well-planned and co-ordinated attack. * June: ** 2–4 June: {{Main, Afghan Peace Jirga 2010 ** The2011
The insurgency continued strongly in 2011.Timeline
The Taliban continued attacking and ambushing NATO and Afghan troops as well as the targeted assassination of government officials. * January: ** 29 January: The deputy governor of Kandahar was killed in a suicide attack. Three months later, on 15 April the Kandahar chief police, General Khan Mohammed Mujahid was killed. * April: ** It was reported that in 2011, the United States was spending 2 billion dollars per week fighting in Afghanistan against the Taliban. In a 2011 forecast the war in Afghanistan was estimated at 108 billion dollars for the year, while the Iraqi War was estimated at 50 billion. * May: ** 28 May: The Taliban assassinated one of their main opponents, Mohammed Daud Daud, in a bomb attack. Six others were also killed. He was the chief of the police for the northern of Afghanistan. * July: ** 18 July: President Karzai's advisor, Jan Mohammad Khan, was assassinated in Kabul by the Taliban in an attack that also killed an Afghan deputy. ** As of 18 July, coalition forces started their plan of transition by handing power of several areas to the Afghan authority following their plan of future pull out of the country. A Taliban militant who had infiltrated the Afghan police force killed seven other policemen in Lashkar Gah. The same day the police chief of Registaan district and three other policemen were killed in bomb attacks. ** As of 22 July 325 coalition fighters were killed, more than 55% of the deaths caused by IED's. ** 19 July: ISAF General Chief David Petraeus left his position with mixed results.{{cite magazine, url=https://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/07/commando-killed-taliban-so/ , magazine=Wired , first=Spencer , last=Ackerman , title=Petraeus' Commando Raids Killed Lots of Taliban. So? , date=19 July 2011 During his time as the head of ISAF, 3775 insurgents were killed or captured in 2832 raids while 713 NATO soldiers were killed. Overall the level of violence in the country increased. He was replaced by General John Allen. ** Between 20 and 22 July, NATO troops killed 50 Haqquani fighters in an attack on their camp. ** 24 July: A US military investigation discovered that a portion of the 2 billion dollars in funds given by the United States in contracts had fallen in the hands of the insurgency. ** 27 July: The mayor of Kandahar, Ghulam Haidar Hameedi, was killed in a suicide attack. ** 28 July: Suicide bombers and snipers attacked the police headquarters of Tarin Kowt in a large-scale attack which killed more than 21 people including Afghan reporter Ahmed Omed Khpulwak. According to the Afghan interior minister, for the 2-year period between 19 March 2009 and 19 March 2011, 2770 Afghan policemen were killed and 4785 wounded while 1052 Afghan soldiers were killed and 2413 wounded. * 31 July: 10 Afghan policemen were killed in a suicide attack in Lashkar Gah where Afghan security forces had taken over from NATO a week before. The same day, 10 Afghan guards who were protecting a NATO supplies convoy were killed in the attack. One day before, 5 Afghans soldiers and 2 NATO soldiers were killed in a bomb attack on their patrol. * August: ** 6 August: 31 American Special Forces soldiers were killed in the crash of their helicopter probably shot down during a fight with the Taliban. Seven Afghan soldiers were also killed. This was the biggest death toll for NATO troops in the whole war. Most of the American soldiers killed were Navy SEALs. ** 7 August: 4 NATO soldiers were killed, including two French Foreign Legion members, and 5 others were wounded.2012
The Taliban insurgency continued into 2012.Timeline
* August: ** 27 August: *** Taliban insurgents in the Taliban-controlled southern Helmand area killed 17 civilians – fifteen men and two women{{cite news , url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-19388869 , title=Taliban kill Afghan 'party-goers' in Helmand , publisher=BBC , date=27 August 2012 , access-date=27 August 2012 – who were attending a party. A government official said that the victims were beheaded for celebrating with music and mixgender dancing{{cite news , url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/another-afghan-soldier-attacks-kills-2-nato-troops/2012/08/27/02576fce-f026-11e1-892d-bc92fee603a7_story.html , title=Taliban beheads 17 Afghan partygoers; 2 NATO troops killed , newspaper=The Washington Post , date=27 August 2012 , access-date=27 August 2012 , author=Salahuddin, Sayed in the Musa Qala district of Helmand, which ran contrary to the Taliban's extreme brand of Islam. Later, however, a provincial government official said that the 17 people killed were due to a fight between two Taliban commanders over two women (who were also killed). The civilians were either beheaded or had their throats cut, but some showed signs of gunshot wounds or beatings. **** The attacks were condemned by Afghanistan President2013
{{expand section, date=July 2021 On 3 April, Taliban gunmen and bombers attacked Farah, killing 34 civilians and 10 members of the security forces. Nine attackers were killed. In Kabul in June, a Taliban suicide car bomber killed 16 people on the 11th. Gunmen and bombers killed three2014
{{expand section, date=July 2021 As the American troops began to depart, and the number of Taliban attacks increased, there was speculation that the Taliban were waiting for an American withdrawal before launching a major offensive.Timeline
* 25 July - Afghan insurgents killed 17 Shia civilians travelling from Kabul. * 13 December -2015
2015 saw the Taliban make various gains in Afghanistan in an attempt to fracture the fledgling Afghan government with successes not seen since NATO intervened in 2001. The Taliban has increased suicide attacks and has made multiple territorial gains across the country.Kunduz offensive
Beginning in April, the Taliban fought for the city ofHelmand offensive
In December, the Taliban made more territorial gains by besieging Afghan forces in the cities of Lashkar Gah,Effects
The gains made by the Taliban have hampered peace talks between them and the government and made rifts appear in the Taliban over negotiations. In response to the new offensives, it was reported that the United States would slow down their withdrawal of troops to help in counter-insurgency operations.2016
{{expand section, date=July 2021 * 14 April: Taliban attacking Kunduz; * 31 May: kidnapping a bus with 220 people, killing 10; * 1 June storming a court in Ghazni, 5 dead Taliban and 5 dead others; * June: Taliban have 25,000 fighters in Helmand, Kandahar and Uruzgan, according to US sources; * 18 July attacking Qalai Zal, unsuccessfully; * July: 20% of Afghanistan is in Taliban hands, said ''Time'' magazine; * December: Taliban controls 10% of Afghanistan, said the US military.2017
{{expand section, date=August 2021 On 10 January, the Taliban killed dozens of people in bombings in Kabul and Lashkargah, Helmand Province. On 21 April, a least 10 Taliban members attacked Camp Shaheen in2018
{{expand section, date=July 2021 On 27 January, a Taliban suicide bomber killed over 100 people in Kabul using a bomb in an ambulance.2019
{{expand section, date=July 2021 Throughout most of the year, the US government maintained high-level talks with the Taliban, in an effort to secure a peace deal with the insurgency. However, a suicide bombing in2020
{{update section, date=July 2021 On 29 February, the2021
{{further, 2021 Taliban offensive In 2021, the United States forces and allies started to withdraw from Afghanistan which allowed the Taliban to intensify their insurgency. On 16 June, the Taliban executed 22 soldiers from theAftermath
{{further, Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, Republican insurgency in Afghanistan, National Resistance Front of Afghanistan The end of the Taliban insurgency resulted in the beginning of a new insurgency against the restored Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan by the National Resistance Front and allied groups which fight under the banner of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.See also
* Afghan conflict (1978–present) *References
{{reflistExternal links