Timeline of the War in Afghanistan (2001–present)

Last updated
War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
Part of the Global War on Terrorism, and
the continuous Afghanistan conflict
Collage of the War in Afghanistan (2001-present).png
Clockwise from top-left: British Royal Marines during a clearance in Helmand Province; U.S. soldiers in a firefight with Taliban forces in Kunar Province; An Afghan National Army soldier surveying atop a Humvee; Afghan and U.S. soldiers move through snow in Logar Province; Canadian forces fire an M777 howitzer in Helmand Province; An Afghan soldier surveying a valley in Parwan Province; British troops preparing to board a Chinook during Operation Tor Shezada.
(For a map of the current military situation in Afghanistan, see here.)
Date7 October 2001 – present
(19 years, 10 months and 1 day)
Location
Result

Ongoing

Belligerents
Invasion (2001):
Flag of Afghanistan (1992-2001).svg Northern Alliance
Flag of the United States.svg  United States
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada
Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia
Flag of Italy.svg  Italy
Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand [4]
Flag of Germany.svg  Germany [5]
Invasion (2001):
Flag of Taliban.svg Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan
Flag of Jihad.svg al-Qaeda
Flag of Jihad.svg 055 Brigade [6] [7]
AQMI Flag asymmetric.svg IMU [8]
Tnsm-flag.svg TNSM [9]
Flag of Turkistan Islamic Party.svg ETIM [10]
ISAF/RS phase (from 2001):
Flag of Afghanistan.svg  Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
Flag of the Resolute Support Mission.svg Resolute Support
(from 2015) [11]

ISAF/RS phase (from 2001):
Flag of Taliban.svg Taliban

Flag of Jihad.svg al-Qaeda
(al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS)) [14]
Flag of Taliban.svg Taliban splinter groups
Supported by:

RS phase (from 2015):
AQMI Flag asymmetric.svg ISIL–KP [28]

Commanders and leaders
Flag of Afghanistan.svg Ashraf Ghani
Flag of the United States.svg Joe Biden
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Flag of Australia (converted).svg Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Flag of New Zealand.svg Elizabeth II
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Boris Johnson
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Scott Morrison
Flag of Italy.svg Sergio Mattarella
Flag of Italy.svg Mario Draghi
Flag of Germany.svg Angela Merkel
Flag of the Resolute Support Mission.svg Austin S. Miller
Flag of the International Security Assistance Force.svg John F. Campbell
Flag of Taliban.svg Mohammed Omar #
Flag of Taliban.svg Akhtar Mansoor  
Flag of Taliban.svg A. G. Baradar   (POW) [30]
Flag of Taliban.svg Hibatullah Akhundzada [13]
Flag of Taliban.svg Jalaluddin Haqqani # [31]
Flag of Taliban.svg Obaidullah Akhund   [30]
Flag of Taliban.svg Dadullah Akhund   [30]
Flag of Hezbi Islami Gulbuddin.svg Gulbuddin Hekmatyar
Flag of al-Qaeda.svg Osama bin Laden  
Flag of al-Qaeda.svg Ayman al-Zawahiri
Flag of al-Qaeda.svg Asim Umar  
Flag of Taliban.svg Muhammad Rasul   (POW) [17]
Flag of Jihad.svg Haji Najibullah [32]
AQMI Flag asymmetric.svg Shahab al-Muhajir [33]
AQMI Flag asymmetric.svg Hafiz Saeed Khan  
AQMI Flag asymmetric.svg Mawlavi Habib Ur Rahman [34]
AQMI Flag asymmetric.svg Abdul Haseeb Logari  
AQMI Flag asymmetric.svg Abdul Rahman Ghaleb  
AQMI Flag asymmetric.svg Abu Saad Erhabi 
AQMI Flag asymmetric.svg Abdullah Orokzai   (POW)
AQMI Flag asymmetric.svg Qari Hekmat  
AQMI Flag asymmetric.svg Mufti Nemat   White flag icon.svg
AQMI Flag asymmetric.svg Dawood Ahmad Sofi 
AQMI Flag asymmetric.svg Mohamed Zahran 
AQMI Flag asymmetric.svg Ishfaq Ahmed Sofi 
Strength

Flag of Afghanistan.svg Afghan National Security Forces: 352,000 [35]
Flag of the Resolute Support Mission.svg Resolute Support Mission: ~17,000 [36]

Contents

Military Contractors: 20,000+ [37]

Flag of Taliban.svg Taliban: 60,000
(tentative estimate) [38]

Flag of Hezbi Islami Gulbuddin.svg HIG: 1,500–2,000+ [42]
Flag of al-Qaeda.svg al-Qaeda: ~300 [43] [44] [45] (~ 3,000 in 2001) [43]


Flag of Taliban.svg IEHCA: 3,000–3,500 [17]
Flag of Jihad.svg Fidai Mahaz: 8,000 [32]
AQMI Flag asymmetric.svg ISIL–KP: 3,500–4,000 (2018, in Afghanistan) [46]
Casualties and losses

Afghan security forces:
65,596+ killed [47] [48]
Northern Alliance:
200 killed [49] [50] [51] [52] [53]

Coalition:
Dead: 3,562

Wounded: 22,773

  • United States: 19,950 [55]
  • United Kingdom: 2,188 [56]
  • Canada: 635 [57]

Contractors
Dead: 3,937 [58] [59]
Wounded: 15,000+ [58] [59]

Total killed: 73,295+

Taliban: 51,000+ killed (no official numbers, incomplete according to Brown, can be higher) [47]


al-Qaeda: 2,000+ killed [43]
ISIL–KP: 2,400+ killed [28]

Civilians killed: 47,245 [47]


Total killed: 212,191+ (per UCDP) [60]


a The continued list includes nations who have contributed fewer than 200 troops as of November 2014. [61]

b The continued list includes nations who have contributed fewer than 200 troops as of May 2017. [62]

The following items form a partial timeline of the War in Afghanistan . For events prior to October 7, 2001, see 2001 in Afghanistan.

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

The army of the United States continues to conduct missions throughout Afghanistan, began closing forward operating bases (FOB).

See also

Related Research Articles

United States invasion of Afghanistan 2001 United States military invasion of Taliban-held Afghanistan

The United States invasion of Afghanistan occurred after the September 11 attacks in late 2001 and was supported by close US allies which had officially begun the War on Terror. The conflict is also known as the US war in Afghanistan or the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan. Its public aims were to dismantle al-Qaeda and deny it a safe base of operations in Afghanistan by removing the Taliban from power. The United Kingdom was a key ally of the United States, offering support for military action from the start of preparations for the invasion. It followed the Afghan Civil War's 1996–2001 phase between the Taliban and the Northern Alliance groups, although the Taliban controlled 90% of the country by 2001. The US invasion of Afghanistan became the first phase of the War in Afghanistan (2001–present).

Taliban insurgency Insurgency during the War in Afghanistan

The Taliban insurgency began after the group's fall from power during the 2001 War in Afghanistan. The Taliban forces are fighting against the Afghan government, formerly led by President Hamid Karzai, now led by President Ashraf Ghani, and against the US-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). The insurgency has spread to some degree over the Afghanistan-Pakistan border to neighboring Pakistan, in particular Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The Taliban conduct warfare against Afghan National Security Forces and their NATO allies, as well as against civilian targets. Regional countries, particularly Pakistan, Iran, China and Russia, are often accused of funding and supporting the insurgent groups.

Operation Mountain Fury Military operation in Afghanistan

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 lists events that happened during 2004 in Afghanistan.

Events from the year 2007 in Afghanistan.

War in Afghanistan (2001–present) War since 2001 following the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan

The War in Afghanistan is an ongoing war following the United States invasion of Afghanistan when the United States and its allies successfully drove the Taliban from power in order to deny al-Qaeda a safe base of operations in Afghanistan. After the initial objectives were completed, a coalition of over 40 countries formed a security mission in the country called International Security Assistance Force of which certain members were involved in military combat allied with Afghanistan's government. The war has mostly consisted of Taliban insurgents fighting against the Afghan Armed Forces and allied forces; the majority of ISAF/RS soldiers and personnel are American. The war is code-named by the U.S. as Operation Enduring Freedom (2001–14) and Operation Freedom's Sentinel (2015–present).

Events from the year 2011 in Afghanistan.

2012 in Afghanistan List of events

Events from the year 2012 in Afghanistan.

The following lists events from 2014 in Afghanistan.

The following lists events that happened in 2013 in Afghanistan.

The following lists events that happened during 2015 in Afghanistan.

The following lists events that happened during 2016 in Afghanistan.

Events in the year 2017 in Afghanistan.

Events in the year 2018 in Afghanistan.

Events from the year 2019 in Afghanistan.

This article summarizes the history of the War in Afghanistan (2001–present).

2021 Taliban offensive Part of the War in Afghanistan

An ongoing military offensive by the Taliban and allied militant groups, including al-Qaeda, against the government of Afghanistan and its allies began on 1 May 2021, simultaneous with the withdrawal of most U.S. troops from Afghanistan. As of 15 July, over a third of Afghanistan's 421 districts were controlled by the Taliban, and by 21 July, half of Afghanistan was under Taliban control. On 6–9 August, the Taliban captured six provincial capitals including Kunduz.

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