From The US Invasion Of 2001 To Taliban's Recapture Of Afghanistan - A Timeline Of Major Events
Talibans first regime was cut short by the US-led NATO invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 following the 9/11 terror attacks. Since then the country has gone through a lot war democracy politics and more wars. Here is a timeline of major events in Afghanistan since 2001.
The Taliban has once again forced its way into the heart of Afghanistan, much like how they did it for the first time in 1996.
The Taliban's first regime was cut short by the US-led NATO invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, following the 9/11 terror attacks.
Reuters
Since then the country has gone through a lot, war, democracy, politics, and more wars.
Here is a timeline of major events in Afghanistan since 2001.
October 7, 2001
The then US President George W. Bush launches his "war on terror" in response to the September 11 attacks that killed around 3,000 people, with airstrikes in Afghanistan.
December 17, 2001
US and allied forces drove out the Taliban from power in Afghanistan
December 22, 2001
Hamid Karzai is appointed to lead an interim government and NATO begins to deploy its International Security Assistance Force.
October 9, 2004
Afghanistan's first election under a new system is held on October with an enthusiastic turnout of 70 percent. Karzai wins 55 percent of the vote.
February 17, 2009
The Taliban regroup in the south and east, as well as across the border in Pakistan, and launch an insurgency.
As attacks multiply, the US command in 2008 asks for more troops and the first reinforcements are sent.
President Barack Obama recommits U.S. forces to Afghanistan to combat "resurgent" Taliban.
August 20, 2009
Hamid Karzai is re-elected as President of Afghanistan on August 20, 2009 in elections that are marred by massive fraud, low turnout and Taliban attacks.
May 2, 2011
US announces that Osama bin Laden is killed in a special forces operation in Pakistan.
June 22, 2011
Obama announces the beginning of a troop withdrawal, with the departure by mid-2012 of 33,000 soldiers.
14 June 2014
Run-off election for the President is held
20 September 2014 and both Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah claimed victory.
19 September 2014
The Independent Election Commission announces Ashraf Ghani as the winner. Abdullah and Ghani signed a power-sharing agreement, with Ghani being named president and Abdullah taking on an important position in the government.
December 2014
NATO issues a joint statement, designating that Afghan Security Forces "will assume full responsibility for security" of the country by the end of the year. The international coalition ends its operations in Afghanistan, US continues its own battle.
February 18, 2020
Ghani is declared victorious for a second term on February 18, 2020, an announcement rejected by his rival and former minister Abdullah Abdullah, who vows to form his own parallel government.
February 29, 2020
the United States and the Taliban sign a historic deal in Doha under which all foreign forces would leave Afghanistan by May 2021, provided the insurgents start talks with Kabul and adhere to other security guarantees.
April 14, 2021
President Joe Biden announces US troops will withdraw from Afghanistan starting on May 1 and ending on Sept. 11, bringing America's longest war to a close. It was an extension of the previous withdrawal deadline of May 1 agreed between the United States and the Taliban.
May 1, 2021
The United States and NATO start withdrawing their 9,500 soldiers, of which 2,500 are American. In May, the Americans withdraw from the Kandahar air base.
May 4, 2021
Taliban fighters launch a major offensive on Afghan forces in southern Helmand province. They also attacked in at least six other provinces.
AP
May 11, 2011
The Taliban capture Nerkh district just outside the capital Kabul as violence intensifies across the country.
June 7, 2011
Senior government officials say more than 150 Afghan soldiers are killed in 24 hours as fighting worsens. They add that fighting is raging in 26 of the country's 34 provinces.
June 22, 2021
Taliban fighters launch a series of attacks in the north of the country, far from their traditional strongholds in the south. The UN envoy for Afghanistan says they have taken more than 50 of 370 districts.
AP
July 2, 2021
Bagram air base -- Afghanistan's biggest, and the nerve centre of the US-led coalition's operations -- is handed over to Afghan forces.
July 21, 2021
Taliban insurgents control about half of the country's districts, according to the senior US general, underlining the scale and speed of their advance.
July 26, 2021
The United Nations says nearly 2,400 Afghan civilians were killed or wounded in May and June in escalating violence, the highest number for those months since records started in 2009.
August 6, 2021
The Taliban capture their first provincial capital, Zaranj in the southwest.
Other major cities fall within days, including Kandahar and Herat -- Afghanistan's second- and third-biggest cities respectively.
August 13, 2021
Four more provincial capitals fall in a day, including Kandahar, the country's second city and spiritual home of the Taliban. In the west, another key city, Herat, is overrun and veteran commander Mohammad Ismail Khan, one of the leading fighters against the Taliban, is captured.
Reuters
August 14, 2021
The Taliban take the major northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif and, with little resistance, Pul-e-Alam, capital of Logar province just 70 km (40 miles) south of Kabul. The United States sends more troops to help evacuate its civilians from Kabul as Afghan President Ashraf Ghani says he is consulting with local and international partners on next steps.
August 15, 2021
The Taliban take the key eastern city of Jalalabad without a fight, effectively surrounding Kabul.
August 15, 2021
Taliban insurgents enter Kabul, an interior ministry official says, as the United States evacuate diplomats from its embassy by helicopter.
Bobins Abraham is the Assistant News Editor at Indiatimes. He has more than twelve years of experience in TV and digital journalism. An avid student of history and geopolitics, he is a conservationist and environmentalist at heart. He writes on environment, sustainability, human-animal conflict and more.
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