War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) |
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| Part of the Global War on Terrorism and the Afghanistan conflict (1978–present) | |||||||||
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Clockwise from top-left: American troops in a firefight with Taliban insurgents in Kunar Province; An American F-15S Strike Eagle dropping 2000 pound JDAMs on a cave in eastern Afghanistan; an Afghan soldier surveying atop a Humvee; Afghan and American soldiers move through snow in Logar Province; victorious Taliban fighters after securing Kabul; an Afghan soldier surveying a valley in Parwan Province; British troops preparing to board a Chinook during Operation Black Prince |
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
Invasion (2001): Northern Alliance United States United Kingdom Canada Germany Australia Italy New Zealand
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Invasion (2001): Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan Al-Qaeda 055 Brigade
Supported by:
Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi East Turkestan Islamic Movement |
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ISAF/RS phase (2001–2021): Islamic State of Afghanistan (2001–2002) Afghan Transitional Authority (2002–2004) Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (2004–2021)
 ISAF (2001–2015) United States United Kingdom Canada Germany Australia Italy New Zealand France Turkey Georgia Jordan Bulgaria Poland Romania Spain Czech Republic Macedonia Denmark Armenia Azerbaijan Finland Croatia Hungary Norway Lithuania Mongolia United Arab Emirates Belgium Portugal Slovakia Netherlands Montenegro Latvia Sweden Albania Ukraine Bosnia–Herzegovina Greece Ireland Iceland Estonia Austria Malaysia Slovenia Colombia Switzerland Bahrain El Salvador Luxembourg South Korea Resolute Support (2015–2021; 36 countries) High Council of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (allegedly; from 2015)Khost Protection Force and other pro-government paramilitaries |
ISAF/RS phase (2001–2021): Taliban
Al-Qaeda
Supported by:
 Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin(on and off until 2016) Islamic Jihad Union(from 2002) Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (until 2015) Turkistan Islamic Party Lashkar-e-Jhangvi Pakistani Taliban Lashkar-e-Islam Iran (alleged, but denied by Iran) Pakistan (alleged, but denied by Pakistan) Russia (alleged, but denied by Russia) Saudi Arabia (alleged, but denied by Saudi Arabia) Qatar (alleged by Saudi Arabia, but denied by Qatar) China (alleged by the US, but denied by China) Taliban splinter groups
RS phase (2015–2021):  ISIL–KP (from 2015)
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
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List
 Hamid Karzai Ashraf Ghani George W. Bush Barack Obama Donald Trump Joe Biden Tony Blair Gordon Brown David Cameron Theresa May Boris Johnson Jean Chrétien Paul Martin Stephen Harper Justin Trudeau Gerhard Schröder Angela Merkel John Howard Kevin Rudd Julia Gillard Tony Abbott Malcolm Turnbull Scott Morrison Silvio Berlusconi Romano Prodi Mario Monti Enrico Letta Matteo Renzi Paolo Gentiloni Giuseppe Conte Mario Draghi Helen Clark John Key Bill English Jacinda Ardern
Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr. John F. Campbell List of former ISAF Commanders List of former RS Commanders Nangialai † Abdul Manan Niazi † |
List
Mullah Omar # Akhtar Mansour † Hibatullah Akhundzada Obaidullah Akhund † Jalaluddin Haqqani # Sirajuddin Haqqani Mullah Yaqoob Abdul Ghani Baradar Gulbuddin Hekmatyar Osama bin Laden † Ayman al-Zawahiri Asim Umar †
Muhammad Rasul Haji Najibullah
Shahab al-Muhajir Hafiz Saeed Khan † Mawlavi Habib Ur Rahman Abdul Haseeb Logari † Abdul Rahman Ghaleb † Abu Saad Erhabi † Abdullah Orokzai (POW) Qari Hekmat † Mufti Nemat  Dawood Ahmad Sofi † Mohamed Zahran † Ishfaq Ahmed Sofi † |
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| Strength | |||||||||
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ISIL–KP: 3,500–4,000 (2018, in Afghanistan) |
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| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
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Afghan security forces: Coalition:
Wounded: 23,536
Contractors |
Taliban insurgents: ISIL–KP: 2,400+ killed |
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Civilians killed: 46,319 Total killed: 176,206 (per Brown University) |
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a The continued list includes nations who have contributed fewer than 200 troops as of November 2014. b The continued list includes nations who have contributed fewer than 200 troops as of May 2017. |
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The War in Afghanistan was a long conflict. It involved the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, The Netherlands, Australia, and other countries. They fought against the Taliban and Al-Qaeda. This war began after the terrorist attacks in the US on September 11, 2001.
The war officially ended on August 31, 2021. This was when the last foreign soldiers left Afghanistan.
History of the Conflict
The war started when the US and its allies entered Afghanistan in 2001. They quickly pushed the Taliban and Al-Qaeda into hiding. By December 2001, a new government was formed for Afghanistan. Hamid Karzai became its first president.
In February 2002, the ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) arrived. This military group was led by the United States. Its soldiers came from NATO and allied countries. By 2012, ISAF had about 130,000 soldiers in Afghanistan. This was the largest number of troops during the war.
In 2004, Hamid Karzai became the first elected president of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. Even though the Taliban lost power, they formed a "shadow government." Taliban fighters controlled many areas. They also made their own rules in those places.
Osama bin Laden, a leader of Al-Qaeda, was killed in Pakistan in May 2011.
British troops left Afghanistan in 2015. They had spent five years training the Afghan police. This training helped the police deal with threats from the Taliban.
Later, the security situation became worse. American soldiers returned to Afghanistan. By the end of 2017, over 10,000 US troops were in the country. In 2020, the US and NATO allies agreed to leave Afghanistan. This was if the Taliban promised two things: not to let terrorists operate there, and to start peace talks with the Afghan government.
In mid-2021, as US and allied forces began to leave, the Taliban started a large military attack. They wanted to take back more land. By August 15, 2021, the Taliban had taken over Kabul. They had defeated the Afghan government.
During the 2021 evacuation from Afghanistan, over 150,000 people were flown out of Afghanistan. These included diplomats, other civilian workers, and military staff.
The last US military planes left Kabul airport just before August 31, 2021. The war officially ended on that day. An anti-Taliban group took control of the Panjshir Valley in August 2021.
Soldiers and Injuries
Many soldiers from the Coalition (foreign countries) were hurt or died. More than 15,000 Coalition soldiers were wounded. This included 6,773 from the US, 3,954 from the UK, and 1,500 from Canada. Over 2,500 other Coalition soldiers were also wounded.
About 5,500 Afghan army soldiers and 200 Northern Alliance fighters were killed. Also, 378 US civilian workers died, and 7,224 were injured.
Gallery
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Taliban fighters in 2021.
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ISAF soldiers from Romanian Land Forces between Kandahar and Kabul in 2003.
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A soldier of the Afghan National Army in Kandahar Province in 2008.
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ISAF soldiers from the Czech Republic's army in Logar Province in 2009.
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ISAF soldiers from Germany's Bundeswehr near Mazar-i-Sharif in 2009.
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A howitzer of the Royal Netherlands Army in 2009.
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A helicopter of Britain's Royal Air Force in Helmand Province in 2015.
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Aeroplanes of the Afghan Air Force above Kabul in 2016.
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See also
In Spanish: Guerra de Afganistán (2001-2021) para niños
