✦ History

Afghan conflict

April 27, 1978

Result Inconclusive

Afghanistan has seen almost constant war since the communist Saur Revolution. The conflict includes the Soviet war, civil wars, the US-led war, and the return of the Taliban in 2021.

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Battles and events 14

March 15–20, 1979
1979 Herat uprising Herat Province
June 23, 1979
Chindawol uprising Afghan government victory Hafizullah Amin
August 5, 1979
Bala Hissar uprising Afghan Government victory Hafizullah Amin
December 24, 1979 – February 15, 1989
Soviet–Afghan War Afghan mujahideen victory Afghanistan Mikhail Gorbachev, Leonid Brezhnev, Konstantin Chernenko
February 15, 1989 – April 27, 1992
Afghan Civil War (1989–1992) Afghan Interim Government victory Democratic Republic of Afghanistan Sibghatullah Mojaddedi, Burhanuddin Rabbani, Osama bin Laden
April 30, 1992 – September 27, 1996
Afghan Civil War (1992–1996) Military stalemate in northern Afghanistan Afghanistan Sibghatullah Mojaddedi, Burhanuddin Rabbani, Ahmad Shah Massoud
September 27, 1996 – October 7, 2001
Afghan Civil War (1996–2001) Stalemate Afghanistan Mohammad Rabbani, Mohammed Omar, Burhanuddin Rabbani
October 7, 2001 – August 30, 2021
War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) Afghanistan George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Donald Trump
November 25 – December 1, 2001
Battle of Qala-i-Jangi Coalition victory Qala-i-Jangi Abdul Rashid Dostum, Mark E. Mitchell
January 1, 2015 – August 30, 2021
War in Afghanistan (2015–2021) Afghanistan
November 11, 2015
Islamic State–Taliban conflict Afghanistan Akhtar Mansour, Hibatullah Akhundzada, Abdul Ghani Baradar
August 2021 – August 30, 2021
2021 Kabul airlift Afghanistan Lloyd Austin
August 17, 2021
Republican insurgency in Afghanistan Panjshir Province
May 27, 2022 – May 2023
2023 Afghanistan–Iran clash Afghanistan–Iran border

Key commanders

Soviet Union and Afghan government 7

Mikhail Gorbachev Leonid Brezhnev belligerent leader Konstantin Chernenko Yuri Andropov Babrak Karmal belligerent leader Hafizullah Amin belligerent leader Mohammad Najibullah belligerent leader

Mujahideen 3

Burhanuddin Rabbani belligerent leader Ahmad Shah Massoud belligerent leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar belligerent leader

Coalition 6

George W. Bush belligerent leader Barack Obama Donald Trump Joe Biden Abdul Rashid Dostum military commander Mark E. Mitchell military commander

Afghan mujahideen 7

Sibghatullah Mojaddedi belligerent leader Burhanuddin Rabbani belligerent leader Osama bin Laden belligerent leader Ahmad Shah Massoud belligerent leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar belligerent leader Jalaluddin Haqqani belligerent leader Shahnawaz Tanai belligerent leader

Afghanistan 14

Sibghatullah Mojaddedi belligerent leader Burhanuddin Rabbani belligerent leader Ahmad Shah Massoud military commander Jalaluddin Haqqani military commander Mohammad Nabi Mohammadi military commander Abdul Rashid Dostum military commander Muhammad Fahim military commander Atiqullah Baryalai military commander Atta Muhammad Nur military commander Bismillah Khan Mohammadi military commander Akhtar Mansour military commander Hibatullah Akhundzada military commander Abdul Ghani Baradar military commander Hafizullah Amin military commander

Taliban 7

Mohammad Rabbani belligerent leader Mohammed Omar belligerent leader Pervez Musharraf belligerent leader Osama bin Laden belligerent leader Jalaluddin Haqqani belligerent leader Abdul Ghani Baradar military commander Dadullah military commander

Other 1

Lloyd Austin Secretary of Defense overseeing the evacuation