From May 1996, Osama bin Laden had been living in Afghanistan along with other members of al-Qaeda, operating terrorist training camps in a loose alliance with the Taliban.[1] Following the 1998 US embassy bombings in Africa, the US military launched cruise missiles at these camps with limited effect on their overall operations. A follow-on plan, Operation Infinite Resolve, was planned but not implemented.[citation needed] The UN Security Council issued Resolutions 1267 and 1333 in 1999 and 2000, respectively, applying financial and military hardware sanctions to encourage the Taliban to turn over bin Laden to appropriate authorities for trial in the embassy bombings, as well as to close terrorist training camps.
After the September 11, 2001, attacks, investigators rapidly accumulated evidence implicating bin Laden. In a taped statement released in 2004, bin Laden publicly acknowledged his and al-Qaeda's direct involvement in the attacks. In an audiotape posted on a website that the US claims is "frequently used by al-Qaeda,"[citation needed] on May 21, 2006, bin Laden said that he had personally directed the 19 hijackers.
The war in Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001, as Operation Enduring Freedom, in response to the 9/11 attacks. This conflict marked the beginning of the US war on terror. The stated purpose of the invasion was to capture Osama bin Laden, destroy al-Qaeda, and remove the Taliban regime, which had provided them support and safe harbor. In December, the Taliban government fell and a transitional government was established.
In January 2006, NATO's focus in southern Afghanistan was to form Provincial Reconstruction Teams with the British leading in Helmand Province and the Netherlands and Canada leading similar deployments in Orūzgān Province and Kandahar Province, respectively. The Americans remained in control of Zabul Province. Local Taliban figures voiced opposition to the incoming force and pledged to resist it.
Battle: A coalition victory enabled the construction of two bases for the Afghan National Army in the valley near the village, which had been guerrilla control since 2006
Counterinsurgency: A Major US Marine offensive on the Taliban-held town killing more than 400 insurgents. Taliban forces withdrew from the town as a result of the assault and took up a position further south
Battle: A British-led operation involving the Afghan National Army that resulted in a coalition victory and a Taliban retreat into the nearby mountains
Battle: It began with the uprising of Taliban prisoners held at Qala-i-Jangi fortress and escalated into one of the bloodiest engagements of the war in Afghanistan
Counterinsurgency: Army infantrymen, Afghan National Army troops, and attached Marines again sparred with ACM forces in the region, inflicting significant losses against the enemy
Law enforcement: Involved the training of Afghan commandos by British special forces to seek out and destroy drug laboratories and to confiscate drug shipments
Counterinsurgency: The largest military offensive ever launched by NATO troops in Afghanistan to clear the city of Taliban militants and drug traffickers eliminating the last Taliban stronghold in Helmand. It involved US Marine units and Afghan troops along with the US Special Forces and other ISAF members[16]
Operation Mountain Blizzard
January 2004
12 March 2004
The south, southeast, and eastern portions of Afghanistan
Counterinsurgency: Killed 22 enemy combatants and discovered caches with 3,648 rockets, 3,202 mortar rounds, 2,944 rocket-propelled grenades, 3,000 rifle rounds, 2,232 mines and tens of thousands of rounds of small-arms ammunition[citation needed]
Counterinsurgency: A NATO-led operation as a follow-up operation to Operation Medusa, to clear Taliban rebels from the eastern provinces of Afghanistan
Operation Mountain Lion
11 April 2006
2006
Near the Pakistan border
Counterinsurgency: Searching along the border with Pakistan for al-Qaeda and former Taliban forces
US Army, Theatre Assets, ANSF, ANP, ANA were ambushed by 150+ Taliban for 8.5 hours along the route from Marawara District Center to Daridam Village area. 60-80 Taliban killed; three US soldiers wounded[citation needed]
To secure the area around the provincial capital of Lashkar Gah after an increase in insurgent attacks there, as well as to safeguard a planned voter registration program
Operation Sparviero
Codename for the Italian Army's contributions to the ISAF
The operation was planned and executed by the International Security Assistance Force forces and Afghan army whose mission was to clear insurgents from Seyyedabad to the south of Nad-e Ali in Helmand province, in parallel to similar operations by the U.S. Marine Corps in Northern Marjah. Enabled by the UK Joint Aviation Group - UK Apache Attack Helicopters from 664 Squadron AAC alongside UK Chinook and Merlin heavy lift aircraft and USMC CH-53s, Osprey V-22s, Cobra Attack Helicopters and numerous other international Fixed Wing air assets.
Contingency: The codename for all British combat operations in Afghanistan from the start of the war in 2001 until 2002
Operation Vigilance
15 April 2005
April 2005
Wardak Province
Counterinsurgency and Humanitarian: Targeted three individuals that coalition forces were trying to kill or capture, and included humanitarian aid drops in several villages
Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the official name used by the U.S. government for both the first stage (2001–2014) of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism. On 7 October 2001, in response to the September 11 attacks, President George W. Bush announced that airstrikes against Al-Qaeda and the Taliban had begun in Afghanistan. Beyond the military actions in Afghanistan, Operation Enduring Freedom was also affiliated with counterterrorism operations in other countries, such as OEF-Philippines and OEF-Trans Sahara.
Mullah Muhammad Omar was an Afghan mujahideen commander, revolutionary, and the cleric who founded the Taliban. During the Third Afghan Civil War, the Taliban fought the Northern Alliance and took control of most of the country, establishing the First Islamic Emirate for which Omar began to serve as Supreme Leader in 1996. Shortly after al-Qaeda carried out the September 11 attacks, the Taliban government was toppled by an American invasion of Afghanistan, prompting Omar to go into hiding. He successfully evaded capture by the American-led coalition before dying in 2013 from tuberculosis.
The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was a multinational military mission in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2014. It was established by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1386 according to the Bonn Agreement, which outlined the establishment of a permanent Afghan government following the U.S. invasion in October 2001. ISAF's primary goal was to train the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) and assist Afghanistan in rebuilding key government institutions; it gradually took part in the broader war in Afghanistan against the Taliban insurgency.
Shortly after the September 11 attacks, the United States declared the war on terror and subsequently led a multinational military operation against Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. The stated goal was to dismantle al-Qaeda, which had executed the attacks under the leadership of Osama bin Laden, and to deny Islamist militants a safe base of operations in Afghanistan by toppling the Taliban government. The United Kingdom was a key ally of the United States, offering support for military action from the start of the invasion preparations. The American military presence in Afghanistan greatly bolstered the Northern Alliance, which had been locked in a losing fight with the Taliban during the Afghan Civil War. Prior to the beginning of the United States' war effort, the Taliban had seized around 85% of Afghanistan's territory as well as the capital city of Kabul, effectively confining the Northern Alliance to Badakhshan Province and smaller surrounding areas. The American-led invasion on 7 October 2001, marked the first phase of what would become the 20-year-long War in Afghanistan.
The Taliban insurgency began after the group's fall from power during the 2001 War in Afghanistan. The Taliban forces fought against the Afghan government, led by President Hamid Karzai, and later by President Ashraf Ghani, and against a US-led coalition of forces that has included all members of NATO; the 2021 Taliban offensive resulted in the collapse of the government of Ashraf Ghani. The private sector in Pakistan extends financial aid to the Taliban, contributing to their financial sustenance.
Operation Mountain Thrust was a joint NATO and Afghan-led military operation in the War in Afghanistan. It involved more than 3,300 British troops, 2,300 U.S. troops, 2,200 Canadian troops, along with approximately 3,500 Afghan soldiers, supported by extensive air power. Its primary objective was to quell the ongoing Taliban insurgency in the south of the country.
Below is the disposition and structure of international military forces that were participating in the War in Afghanistan in November 2012, listing deployed units under the command of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), which controlled both combat and reconstruction operations. During its existence from 2001 to 2014, despite the photos in this article only showing American soldiers, marines and sailors, the ISAF comprised units from many countries, including: Albania, Armenia, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Romania, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, United Kingdom and others. In this article, units are assumed to be from the United States unless otherwise stated. This list is a rough and unofficial listing of units and formations.
The Battle of Tora Bora was a military engagement that took place in the cave complex of Tora Bora, eastern Afghanistan, from November 30 – December 17, 2001, during the final stages of the United States invasion of Afghanistan. It was launched by the United States and its allies with the objective to capture or kill Osama bin Laden, the founder and leader of the militant organization al-Qaeda. Al-Qaeda and bin Laden were suspected of being responsible for the September 11 attacks three months prior. Tora Bora is located in the Spīn Ghar mountain range near the Khyber Pass. The U.S. stated that al-Qaeda had its headquarters there and that it was bin Laden's location at the time.
Operation Mountain Fury was a NATO-led operation begun on September 16, 2006 as a follow-up operation to Operation Medusa, to clear Taliban insurgents from the eastern provinces of Afghanistan. Another focus of the operation was to enable reconstruction projects such as schools, health-care facilities, and courthouses to take place in the targeted provinces.
The following items form a partial timeline of the War in Afghanistan. For events prior to October 7, 2001, see 2001 in Afghanistan.
The following lists events that happened during 2004 in Afghanistan.
The Helmand province campaign was a series of military operations conducted by the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) forces against Taliban insurgents and other local groups in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan. Their objective was to control a province that was known to be a Taliban stronghold, and a center of opium production. None of the ISAF's intended strategic and political objectives were achieved in the long term.
US and NATO International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) operations, alongside Afghan National Army forces, continued against the Taliban through 2007.
The War in Afghanistan was an armed conflict that took place from 2001 to 2021. Launched as a direct response to the September 11 attacks, the war began when an international military coalition led by the United States invaded Afghanistan, declaring Operation Enduring Freedom as part of the earlier-declared war on terror, toppling the Taliban-ruled Islamic Emirate, and establishing the Islamic Republic three years later. The Taliban and its allies were expelled from major population centers by US-led forces supporting the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance; Osama bin Laden, meanwhile, relocated to neighboring Pakistan. The conflict officially ended with the 2021 Taliban offensive, which overthrew the Islamic Republic, and re-established the Islamic Emirate. It was the longest war in the military history of the United States, surpassing the length of the Vietnam War (1955–1975) by approximately six months.
Kabul, capital of Afghanistan, fell in November 2001 to the Northern Alliance forces during the War in Afghanistan. Northern Alliance forces began their attack on the city on 13 November and made swift progress against Taliban and Al-Qaeda forces that were heavily weakened by American and British air strikes. The advance moved ahead of plans, and the next day the Northern Alliance forces entered Kabul and met no resistance inside the city. Taliban forces retreated to Kandahar in the south.
The following lists events that happened during 2006 in Afghanistan.
2003 in Afghanistan. A list of notable incidents in Afghanistan during 2003
Events in the year 2017 in Afghanistan.
This article summarizes the history of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021).
The 2006 Taliban offensive was a major military offensive launched by the Taliban in southern Afghanistan in the spring of 2006. The offensive was planned to unfold on three main fronts concentrated in the provinces of Helmand and Kandahar: the first front was to target northern Helmand, focusing on the districts of Sangin, Nowzad, and Kajaki. The second front aimed at southern Helmand, with a focus on the districts of Garmser and Nawa. The third, and most important, would be western Kandahar, targeting the districts of Maiwand, Zharey, and Panjwayi.
↑ Briscoe, Charles H.; etal. (2003). Weapon of Choice: U.S. Army Special Operations Forces in Afghanistan. Fort Leavenworth, Kansas: Combat Studies Institute Press. pp.141–143. ISBN9781944961763.
↑ Portaria nº399/2021,24 August (2021), Participação nacional na operação SOLACE — Afghan Staff Relocation — célula de coordenação local, Diário da República 2ª Série, 182, pp29-30, Lisboa: Ministério da Defesa Nacional
Further reading
Bishop, Patrick (2009). Ground Truth. UK: HarperPress. ISBN9780007296651.
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