Historical Organization
Taliban
Taliban
Details
Organization Timeline
Taliban capture Kabul
📅 27 September 1996The Taliban seized Kabul and established the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. Their rule brought severe restrictions, especially on women and girls, and armed conflict continued with opponents in the...
Ahmad Shah Massoud is assassinated
📅 9 September 2001Ahmad Shah Massoud, a leading commander of the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance, died after a suicide attack by assassins posing as journalists. His death weakened a major Afghan political-military...
U.S.-led military campaign begins
📅 7 October 2001The United States and United Kingdom began air strikes in Afghanistan, launching Operation Enduring Freedom. Washington cited self-defence and demands that the Taliban hand over al-Qaeda leaders....
Northern Alliance enters Kabul
📅 13 November 2001Northern Alliance forces entered Kabul as Taliban forces withdrew. The rapid collapse of Taliban control followed U.S. air power, local alliances, and the pre-existing Afghan opposition; it did not by...
Airstrikes in Bala Baluk cause mass civilian casualties
📅 4 May 2009U.S.-led airstrikes in Gerani, Bala Baluk district, killed civilians during fighting with Taliban forces. UNAMA attributed 63 deaths; the Afghan human rights commission reported a higher toll. The...
Ghani offers peace talks to the Taliban without preconditions
📅 28 February 2018At the Kabul Process conference, President Ghani offered to recognize the Taliban as a political group and proposed peace talks without preconditions. The Afghan government sought an Afghan-led...
Helmand residents begin a grassroots peace march
📅 26 March 2018After a Lashkar Gah bombing, relatives of victims and residents began a sit-in. The People’s Peace Movement grew into a march through government- and Taliban-held areas, demanding an end to the war.
Government and Taliban begin a rare Eid ceasefire
📅 15 June 2018The government and Taliban observed a three-day Eid ceasefire from 15 to 17 June. Fighters and civilians met publicly. The pause reflected public demand for peace but did not end the war.
U.S. president cancels Camp David peace meetings
📅 8 September 2019President Donald Trump canceled planned Camp David meetings with Taliban leaders and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani after a Kabul bombing. The cancellation interrupted U.S.-Taliban talks that had...
United States and Taliban sign the Doha Agreement
📅 29 February 2020The United States and Taliban signed an agreement setting out a U.S. troop withdrawal timetable and Taliban commitments concerning al-Qaeda and intra-Afghan negotiations. Afghanistan’s elected...
Intra-Afghan peace negotiations begin in Doha
📅 12 September 2020Negotiators representing the Afghan government and the Taliban opened direct talks in Doha. The negotiations followed the U.S.-Taliban agreement and a difficult prisoner exchange, but did not...
UNAMA documents 3,035 civilian deaths in 2020
📅 23 February 2021UNAMA and the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission recorded 3,035 civilian deaths and 5,785 injuries in 2020. Anti-government elements caused the majority of casualties, while...
Biden announces final U.S. and NATO withdrawal
📅 14 April 2021President Joe Biden announced that U.S. forces would leave Afghanistan by 11 September 2021, later completing the withdrawal in August. The decision followed the 2020 U.S.-Taliban agreement and was...
UNAMA warns civilian casualties are surging
📅 26 July 2021UNAMA’s midyear update documented 5,183 civilian casualties in the first half of 2021, including 1,659 killed and 3,524 injured, a 47 percent increase from the same period in 2020. Casualties rose...
Taliban enter Kabul as the republic collapses
📅 15 August 2021The Taliban entered Kabul after a rapid nationwide offensive and the collapse of the U.S.-backed Islamic Republic. President Ashraf Ghani fled the country. The speed of collapse exposed the dependence...
IS-K suicide bombing strikes Kabul airport evacuation
📅 26 August 2021A suicide bombing claimed by Islamic State Khorasan Province struck crowds outside Kabul airport during the evacuation. Afghan civilians and 13 U.S. service members were killed. The attack underscored...
Last U.S. military aircraft leaves Afghanistan
📅 30 August 2021The final U.S. military aircraft departed Kabul, ending the U.S. military presence and the 20-year intervention. The evacuation airlift had moved tens of thousands of people, while many Afghans who...
Taliban announce an interim cabinet
📅 7 September 2021The Taliban announced an acting cabinet led by Mohammad Hasan Akhund. It was composed of Taliban figures, without women or representatives of other political currents. Calling it “acting” did not...
Prosecutor seeks to resume Afghanistan investigation with narrower priorities
📅 27 September 2021Prosecutor Karim Khan asked judges to resume the investigation and prioritize alleged crimes by the Taliban and Islamic State in Khorasan Province. He said other aspects, including alleged crimes by...
Taliban issue a nationwide opium cultivation ban
📅 3 April 2022Taliban leader Haibatullah Akhundzada issued a ban on poppy cultivation and narcotics production and trade. The decree sharply curtailed a major rural livelihood and global illicit-drug supply...
U.S. drone strike kills al-Qaeda leader in Kabul
📅 31 July 2022A U.S. drone strike killed al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri at a residence in Kabul. The strike was the first publicly confirmed U.S. attack in Afghanistan since the troop withdrawal and demonstrated...
ICC issues warrants over gender persecution in Afghanistan
📅 8 July 2025Judges issued warrants for Taliban Supreme Leader Haibatullah Akhundzada and Chief Justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani for alleged crimes against humanity, including persecution on gender grounds. The...