U.S. missiles strike alleged al-Qaeda sites

After the Soviet Union dissolved and external support to Kabul contracted, President Najibullah agreed to step aside under a UN-backed transition plan. The plan collapsed amid armed factional...

Mujahideen factions entered Kabul after the Najibullah government fell. Rival armed groups soon fought over the state and the capital. The label “mujahideen” covered diverse organizations; their...

Fighting broke out between Gulbuddin Hekmatyar’s forces and President Rabbani’s allies. Rival former anti-Soviet factions caused civilian deaths, displacement and destruction after the 1992 government...

The 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...

After capturing Mazar-i-Sharif, Taliban forces carried out indiscriminate shootings, executions, mass detention, abductions and rape, HRW reported. Death estimates vary; Hazara residents and other...

Taliban forces retook Yakaolang in Bamiyan. Human Rights Watch later documented witness accounts that civilians, including Hazara men and local aid workers, were rounded up and executed.

Ahmad 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...

Al-Qaeda carried out attacks in the United States, killing nearly 3,000 people. The attacks became the immediate trigger for the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan, although most of the hijackers were not...

The 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 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...