The Taliban at War

The Afghan Taliban, who swept to power in Afghanistan in the mid to late 1990s and ruled much of the country briefly until being overthrown in the wake of the US-led invasion in October 2001 following the September 11, 2001 attacks perpetrated by Al-Qaeda Central (AQC), have solidified their hold on larger swaths of the country over the past decade. Battered and in full-scale retreat following the massive US-led invasion and subsequent US and NATO military missions in the country, the Afghan Taliban needed a number of years before stabilising and re-emerging as a serious insurgent threat, aided to a significant degree by safe havens just across the border in Pakistan and ties to elements within Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). The Afghan Taliban also further developed alliances and cooperative relationships with a host of other militant Islamist groups operating in the region including (AQC), the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), East Turkistan Islamic Party (ETIP), and factions of the Tehreek-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) umbrella. Over the past decade the Afghan Taliban have developed shadow proto-state governing institutions across the country, exercising a greater degree of territorial control and continuing to conduct military and terrorist attacks throughout including regular operations inside the federal capital of Kabul. The recently-signed agreement between the US and the Afghan Taliban, though on shaky ground as of this writing, granted the latter even more international and regional legitimacy as a major player in South and West Asia. The group’s success has been in large part due to its military capabilities and continued reach.