What terrorist organization took over the nation of Afghanistan in the 1990s?

What terrorist organization took over the nation of Afghanistan in the 1990s?

Introduction. The Taliban is a predominantly Pashtun, Islamic fundamentalist group that ruled Afghanistan from 1996 until 2001, when a U.S.-led invasion toppled the regime for providing refuge to al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden.

What is the terrorist group that U.S. has been fighting in Afghanistan since 2001?

The Taliban held more ground than at any time since 2001. In July of that year, Obama suspended the drawdown. When President Donald Trump took office in January 2017, the war raged on. He initially approved an increase of U.S. forces in Afghanistan to roughly 14,000.

Why did the United States go into Afghanistan?

The U.S.-led war in Afghanistan began in October 2001, in a bid to destroy Al Qaeda — the terrorist organization behind the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks — and oust its ruling ally, the Taliban, which had rejected U.S. demands to hand over Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

What’s the meaning of Taliban?

students
Taliban literally means “students” in Pashto, a reference to the founding members being the students of Mullah Mohammad Omar. The group originally drew members from the so-called “mujahideen” fighters who pushed the erstwhile USSR forces out of Afghanistan in the 1980s.

Who are mujahideen in Afghanistan?

Mujahideen, Arabic mujāhidūn, members of a number of guerrilla groups operating in Afghanistan during the Afghan War (1979–92) that opposed the invading Soviet forces and eventually toppled the Afghan communist government.

Why did Russia invade Afghanistan in 1979?

On December 24, 1979, the Soviet Union invades Afghanistan, under the pretext of upholding the Soviet-Afghan Friendship Treaty of 1978. Resistance fighters, called mujahidin, saw the Christian or atheist Soviets controlling Afghanistan as a defilement of Islam as well as of their traditional culture.