Global InformationTaliban insurgency information
| Taliban insurgency | |||||||
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| Part of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) and the Afghan conflict | |||||||
 Map of the 2021 Taliban offensive. | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
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 ISAF (2001–2014)
 RS (2015 onwards)[1]
Allied militias
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Supported by: Allied groups
Taliban splinter groups (from 2015)
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
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ISAF (2001–14)
RS[1] (2015 onwards)
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 Osama bin Laden †(Former Emir of al-Qaeda) | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
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Fidai Mahaz: 8,000[33] | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
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Afghan Security Forces: |
Taliban: Dead: 52,893+ killed (estimate, no official data).[37][53][54] | ||||||
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.[55]
The insurgency had spread to some degree over the border to neighboring Pakistan, in particular Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The Taliban conducted warfare against Afghan National Security Forces and their NATO allies, as well as against civilian targets. Regional countries, particularly Pakistan, Iran, China and Russia, were often accused of funding and supporting the insurgent groups.[56][57][58][59][60][61][62][63][64][65][66]
The allied Haqqani Network, Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin (until 2016), and smaller al-Qaeda groups had also been part of the Taliban insurgency.[67][68]
- ^ a b "News – Resolute Support Mission". Archived from the original on 28 February 2015. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
- ^ Rod Nordland; Jawad Sukhanyar; Taimoor Shah (19 June 2017). "Afghan Government Quietly Aids Breakaway Taliban Faction". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 September 2017.
- ^ Donati, Jessica; Totakhil, Habib Khan (23 May 2016). "Afghan Government Secretly Fosters Taliban Splinter Groups". Wall Street Journal.
- ^ a b Matthew DuPée (January 2018). "Red on Red: Analyzing Afghanistan's Intra-Insurgency Violence". Combating Terrorism Center. Archived from the original on 16 November 2018. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
- ^ "Prayer ceremony for Taliban faction's deputy held at Herat Grand Mosque | Ariana News". ariananews.af. 17 May 2021.
The group had recently aligned itself with the government, and fighters were sent to Niazi as part of an uprising force to secure a number of Herat districts.
- ^ "Taliban splinter group declares open-ended truce with Kabul". Stars and Stripes. 10 June 2018.
- ^ a b "Local Officials Criticized for Silence on Shindand Strike". TOLOnews. 11 January 2020.
- ^ a b "Afghanistan's warlord vice-president spoiling for a fight with the Taliban". The Guardian. 4 August 2015. Retrieved 15 August 2015.
- ^ Ibrahimi, Niamatullah. 2009. 'Divide and Rule: State Penetration in Hazarajat (Afghanistan) from Monarchy to the Taliban', Crisis States Working Papers (Series 2) 42, London: Crisis States Research Centre, LSE
- ^ The Taliban's new leadership is allied with al Qaeda Archived 17 June 2016 at the Wayback Machine, The Long War Journal, 31 July 2015
- ^ "Pakistan Prime Minister Khan says he will try to persuade Taliban to meet Afghan government". Reuters. 23 July 2019.
Afghanistan accuses Pakistan of supporting the Taliban, a charge Pakistan denies, saying it has suffered heavily from the fighting.
- ^ "How Pakistan Is Tightening Its Grip on the Taliban". The National Interest. 15 August 2015. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
- ^ "Pakistani intelligence helping Taliban: NATO report". ABC. 2 February 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
- ^ Multiple Sources:
- "Report: Iran pays $1,000 for each U.S. soldier killed by the Taliban". NBC News. 9 May 2010.
- Tabatabai, Ariane M. (9 August 2019). "Iran's cooperation with the Taliban could affect talks on U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan". The Washington Post.
- "Iranian Support for Taliban Alarms Afghan Officials". Middle East Institute. 9 January 2017.
Both Tehran and the Taliban denied cooperation during the first decade after the US intervention, but the unholy alliance is no longer a secret and the two sides now unapologetically admit and publicize it.
- "Iran Backs Taliban With Cash and Arms". The Wall Street Journal. 11 June 2015. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
- "Iran denies Taliban were paid bounties to target US troops". AP NEWS. 18 August 2020.
- ^ Patrikarakos, David (25 August 2021). "Iran is an immediate winner of the Taliban takeover | The Spectator". www.spectator.co.uk.
- ^ Multiple Sources:
- Salahuddin, Syed (27 May 2018). "Iran funding Taliban to affect US military presence in Afghanistan, say police and lawmakers". Arab News.
- Siddique, Abubakar; Shayan, Noorullah (31 July 2017). "Mounting Afghan Ire Over Iran's Support For Taliban". RFE/RL.
- ^ Kugelman, Michael (22 February 2024). "What Was Mullah Mansour Doing in Iran?". Foreign Policy.
- ^ Multiple Sources:
- Martinez, Luis (10 July 2020). "Top Pentagon officials say Russian bounty program not corroborated". ABC News.
- Loyd, Anthony (16 October 2017). "Russia funds Taliban in war against Nato forces". The Times. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
- ^ Noorzai, Roshan; Sahinkaya, Ezel; Gul Sarwan, Rahim (3 July 2020). "Afghan Lawmakers: Russian Support to Taliban No Secret". VOA.
- ^ "Russian ambassador denies Moscow supporting Taliban". Reuters. 25 April 2016.
- ^ "Qatar's Dirty Hands". National Review. 3 August 2017.
- ^ "Saudi has evidence Qatar supports Taliban: Envoy". Pajhwok Afghan News. 7 August 2017.
- ^ What's Behind Saudi Arabia's Turn Away From the Taliban?. The Diplomat. 7 September 2017.
- ^ "Central Asian groups split over leadership of global jihad". The Long War Journal. 24 August 2015. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
- ^ "Turkistan Islamic Party highlights joint raids with the Afghan Taliban | FDD's Long War Journal". 12 March 2018.
- ^ "Taliban declare victory in Afghanistan". Axios. 16 August 2021. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
- ^ Khan, Tahir (16 May 2021). "Rebel Taliban leader dies of injuries days after attack". Daily Times.
- ^ a b c "Afghan Taliban announce successor to Mullah Mansour". BBC News. 26 May 2015. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
- ^ Mullah Omar: Taliban choose deputy Mansour as successor Archived 17 August 2016 at the Wayback Machine, BBC News, 30 July 2015
- ^ a b c d e "Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Omar is dead". The Express Tribune. 29 July 2015. Retrieved 29 July 2015.
- ^ "Mullah Omar's family rejects new Taliban supremo". The Express Tribune. 3 August 2015. Retrieved 29 August 2015.
- ^ "Mullah Mansoor deployed 600 militants to fight Mullah Dadullah in Zabul". The Khaama Press News Agency. 28 August 2015. Retrieved 29 August 2015.
- ^ a b "Mullah Najibullah: Too Radical for the Taliban". Newsweek. 30 August 2013. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
- ^ "The Afghan National Security Forces Beyond 2014: Will They Be Ready?" (PDF). Centre for Security Governance. February 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 July 2014.
- ^ Domínguez, Gabriel (6 January 2015). "What can NATO's new Afghanistan mission achieve?". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
- ^ a b "The continuing US war in Afghanistan". World Socialist Web Site. 30 December 2014. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
- ^ a b c Dawi, Akmal. "Despite Massive Taliban Death Toll No Drop in Insurgency". Voanews.com. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
It's unclear how many Taliban have been killed over the past 13 years but estimates vary from 20,000 to 35,000
- ^ Rassler, Don; Vahid Brown (14 July 2011). "The Haqqani Nexus and the Evolution of al-Qaida" (PDF). Harmony Program. Combating Terrorism Center. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 July 2011. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
- ^ "Sirajuddin Haqqani dares US to attack N Waziristan, by Reuters, Published: September 24, 2011". Tribune. Reuters. 24 September 2011. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
- ^ Perlez, Jane (14 December 2009). "Rebuffing U.S., Pakistan Balks at Crackdown". The New York Times.
- ^ Gunaratna, Rohan; Woodall, Douglas (16 January 2015). Afghanistan after the Western Drawdown. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9781442245068. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
- ^ "Al-Qaeda's Resurrection". Council on Foreign Relations. Retrieved 6 March 2018.
- ^ Roggio, Bill (26 April 2011). "How many al Qaeda operatives are now left in Afghanistan? – Threat Matrix". Longwarjournal.org. Archived from the original on 8 February 2014. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
- ^ "Al Qaeda in Afghanistan Is Attempting A Comeback". The Huffington Post. 21 October 2012. Archived from the original on 10 December 2013. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
- ^ "Soldier dies from Afghanistan wounds". 24 July 2015. Archived from the original on 27 September 2016 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
- ^ "OEF: Afghanistan: Fatalities By Year". icasualties.org. 9 September 2005. Archived from the original on 27 October 2018. Retrieved 14 September 2013.
- ^ "U.S. Department of Defense" (PDF). U.S. Department of Defense. Archived from the original on 6 July 2009.
- ^ "Number of Afghanistan UK Military and Civilian casualties (7 October 2001 to 30 November 2014)" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 January 2015.
- ^ "Over 2,000 Canadians were wounded in Afghan mission: report". National Post. Retrieved 1 February 2012.
- ^ "Us cost to date for the War in afghanistan". Archived from the original on 17 August 2021. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
- ^ a b "U.S. Department of Labor – Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP) – Defense Base Act Case Summary by Nation". Dol.gov. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
- ^ a b T. Christian Miller (23 September 2009). "U.S. Government Private Contract Worker Deaths and Injuries". Projects.propublica.org. Archived from the original on 27 July 2011. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
- ^ "Human and Budgetary Costs of Afghan War, 2001–2021" (PDF). Retrieved 28 May 2021.
- ^ "Human and Budgetary Costs to Date of the U.S. War in Afghanistan, 2001–2022". Retrieved 13 November 2021.
- ^ "Crisis of Impunity - Pakistan's Support Of The Taliban". www.hrw.org. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
- ^ "Isaf Seizes Iranian Weapons in Nimroz". Retrieved 14 October 2014.
- ^ "Is Iran Supporting the Insurgency in Afghanistan?". The Jamestown Foundation. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
- ^ "Iran still supporting Afghan insurgency-U.S." Reuters. 23 November 2010. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
- ^ "Iran accused of supporting Afghan insurgents". Central Asia Online. 7 June 2010. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
- ^ "U.S. blames Pakistan agency in Kabul attack". Reuters. 22 September 2011. Archived from the original on 25 September 2011. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
- ^ "U.S. links Pakistan to group it blames for Kabul attack". Reuters. 17 September 2011. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
- ^ "Clinton Presses Pakistan to Help Fight Haqqani Insurgent Group". Fox News. 18 September 2011. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
- ^ "Pakistan condemns US comments about spy agency". Associated Press. 23 September 2011. Archived from the original on 27 July 2013. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
- ^ "Is Russia arming the Afghan Taliban?". BBC News. 2 April 2018.
- ^ Small, Andrew (23 August 2015). "China's Man in the Taliban". Foreign Policy Argument. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
- ^ Danahar, Paul (3 September 2007). "Taleban 'getting Chinese arms'". BBC. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
- ^ Our Man in Kabul? Archived 12 April 2010 at the Wayback Machine by Michael Crowley, tnr.com, 9 March 2010
- ^ Morgan, Wesley (15 August 2018). "Whatever happened to Al Qaeda in Afghanistan?". POLITICO.