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Afghan Civil War (1996-2001)
Encyclopedia
On September 27, 1996, the Taliban seized the Afghan capital Kabul
and established the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan
. The Islamic State of Afghanistan
government remained the internationally recognized government of Afghanistan. The Taliban's Emirate received recognition only from Saudi Arabia
, Pakistan
and the United Arab Emirates
. The defense minister of the Islamic State of Afghanistan, Ahmad Shah Massoud, in opposition to the Taliban created the United Front
(Northern Alliance). The United Front included all Afghan ethnicities: Tajiks, Uzbeks
, Hazaras, Turkmens
, some Pashtuns and others. Massoud fought for a republic
and national consolidation to achieve a lasting peace in Afghanistan. During the conflict, the Taliban received complementary military support by Pakistan and financial support by Saudi Arabia. Pakistan interfered militarily in Afghanistan, deploying battalions and regiments of its Frontier Corps
and Army
against the United Front. Al Qaeda supported the Taliban with regiments of imported fighters from Arab countries and Central Asia
. In the late period of the war of an estimated 45,000 force fighting on the side of the Taliban only 14,000 were Afghan (Taliban).
(for the Taliban) and Osama Bin Laden
together with Ayman al-Zawahiri
(for "Al Qaeda" and different Arab interests) were the main leaders of the war residing in Afghanistan. There were other leaders, mainly from Pakistan (like Pervez Musharraf
and later General Mahmud) on the one side and from the United Front (i. e. Haji Abdul Qadir, Rashid Dostum) on the other side, who, however, were not always present in Afghanistan itself. The quality of life of the Afghan population was heavily dependent on the specific leader that was directly controlling the area in which they lived. Sharp contrast could be witnessed regarding life and structures in different areas.
engineering student turned military leader who played a leading role in driving the Soviet army
out of Afghanistan
, earning him the nickname Lion of Panjshir
. His followers also call him Āmer Sāheb-e Shahīd (Our Beloved Martyred Commander). The Wall Street Journal at that time dedicated one of its covers to Massoud calling him "the Afghan who won the Cold War". Following the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan
and the subsequent collapse of the Soviet-backed government
of Mohammad Najibullah
, Massoud became the Defense Minister in 1992 under the government of Burhanuddin Rabbani
. Following the rise of the Taliban in 1996, Massoud returned to the role of an armed opposition leader, serving as the military commander of the United Islamic Front
(Northern Alliance).
Massoud was a deeply religious and spiritual person, who strongly opposed the interpretations of Islam followed by the Taliban or Al Qaeda. A Sunni Muslim he also always carried a book of Sufi-mystic al-Ghazali with him.
The Taliban repeatedly offered Massoud a position of power to make him stop his resistance. Massoud declined for he did not fight for the sake of power. He explained in one interview:
Massoud was convinced that only a democratic system could ensure a lasting peace in Afghanistan. He wanted to convince the Taliban to join a political process leading towards democratic elections in a foreseeable future. His proposals for peace can be seen here: Proposal for Peace, promoted by Commander Massoud.
On September 9, 2001, two days before the September 11 attacks in the United States, Massoud was assassinated in Takhar Province
of Afghanistan by suspected al-Qaeda
agents. The funeral, although taking place in a rather rural area, was attended by hundreds of thousands of mourning people. see video.
The following year, he was named "National Hero" by the order of Afghan President Hamid Karzai
. The date of his death, September 9, is observed as a national holiday in Afghanistan, known as "Massoud Day." The year following his assassination, in 2002, Massoud was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize
.
One refugee who cramped his family of 27 into an old jeep to flee from the Taliban to the area of Massoud described Massoud's territory as "the last tolerant corner of Afghanistan". About his life in Massoud's area he stated:"I feel freedom here. I like ... you know, nobody bothers me. I do my job. I take care of my family. The way which I like I live in this area." Massoud had no influence on the lives of people living in the areas of Rashid Dostum (who had joined the United Front to fight the Taliban.)
In the area of Massoud women and girls did not have to wear the Afghan burqa. They were allowed to work and to go to school. In at least two known instances Massoud personally intervened against cases of forced marriage. While it was Massoud's stated conviction that men and women are equal and should enjoy the same rights, he also had to deal with Afghan traditions which he said would need a generation or more to overcome. In his opinion that could only be achieved through education.
Massoud created democratic institutions which were structured into several committees: political, health, education and economic. Still, many people came to him personally when they had a dispute or problem and asked him to solve their problems.
Hundreds of thousands of refugees fled the Taliban to the areas of Massoud. In 2001 Massoud and famous photographer and former UN ambassador Reza Deghati
described the bitter situation of the Afghan refugees and asked for humanitarian help. (see video)
Abdul Qadir
Haji Abdul Qadir Arsala (c. 1951 in Jalalabad, Afghanistan-July 6, 2002 in Kabul, Afghanistan) (Arabic: الحاج عبد القادر) was a prominent Pashtun anti-Taliban leader in the United Front. He was the brother of Abdul Haq
, a well-known resistance leader against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Qadir's family was a traditionally powerful one, with ties to former Afghan king Zahir Shah. Abdul Qadir had a base of power in the east of Afghanistan and was the governor of his home province of Nangarhar before the Taliban took power.
Qadir became the Vice President
of Afghanistan in the post-Taliban administration of Hamid Karzai
. On July 6, 2002, Qadir and his son-in-law were killed by gunmen. Another of his sons, Haji Mohammed Zaher, was shot dead in Kabul also in 2002.
Followers of the Taliban claim that Mullah Omar was born in the central province of Uruzgan in 1962. Other sources place his birth in Kandahar at around 1959. They also say that he studied in several Islamic schools outside of Afghanistan especially in Quetta, Pakistan. In the 1980s he joined the resistance against the Soviet invasion. It is believed that he lost his eye fighting the Soviets as a deputy Chief Commander in the Harakat-i Islami party of Mohammad Nabi Mohammadi. In 1994 Mullah Omar liberated Kandahar from a cruel dictatorial governor in a first appearance of the Taliban movement.
Mullah Omar has strong links with another popular figure in world politics, Osama Bin Laden, and is married to a daughter of Bin Laden. Despite several US requests to hand over Osama Bin Laden, Mullah Omar refused. His current whereabouts are unknown but he is believed to hide in either Kandahar or Pakistan.
The Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) analyze: "The Taliban is the first faction laying claim to power in Afghanistan that has targeted women for extreme repression and punished them brutally for infractions. To PHR's knowledge, no other regime in the world has methodically and violently forced half of its population into virtual house arrest, prohibiting them on pain of physical punishment ..."
After taking control of the capital city of Kabul on September 26, 1996, the Taliban issued edicts forbidding women to work outside the home, attend school, or to leave their homes unless accompanied by a male relative. In public, women had to be covered from head to toe in a burqa, a body-length covering with only a mesh opening to see and breathe through. Women were not permitted to wear white (the color of the Taliban flag) socks or white shoes, or shoes that make noise while they are walking. Also, houses and buildings had to have their windows painted over so women could not be seen inside. Women were practically banned from public life, denied access to health care, education, and work and they were not allowed to laugh in a manner they could be heard by others.
The Taliban, without any real court or hearing, cut people's hands or arms off when accused of theft. Taliban hit-squads from the infamous "Ministry for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice" watched the streets conducting arbitrary brutal and public beatings of people when they saw what they considered as unislamic behavior.
, a retired four star general who served as Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee
from 1998 to 2001 and the Chief of Army Staff of Pakistan Army from 1998 to 2007 played an instrumental role in drafting Pakistan's role in the Afghan civil war. In 2001, he would go on to become Pakistan's military ruler and President as well. General Pervez Musharraf was responsible for sending thousands of Pakistani nationals to fight alongside the Taliban and Bin Laden against Ahmad Shah Massoud. In total there were believed to be 28,000 Pakistani nationals fighting inside Afghanistan against the forces of Massoud. 20,000 were regular Pakistani soldiers either from the Frontier Corps
, 50th Airborne Division or 12th regular army regiments, and an estimated 8,000 were militants recruited in madrassas filling regular Taliban ranks. The estimated 25,000 Taliban regular force thus comprised more than 8,000 Pakistani nationals. A 1998 document by the U.S. State Department confirms that "20-40 percent of [regular] Taliban soldiers are Pakistani." The document further states that the parents of those Pakistani nationals "know nothing regarding their child's military involvement with the Taliban until their bodies are brought back to Pakistan." A further 3,000 fighter of the regular Taliban army were Arab and Central Asian militants. Of roughly 45,000 Pakistani, Taliban and Al Qaeda soldiers fighting against the forces of Massoud only 14,000 were Afghan (Taliban).
Lieutenant-General Mahmud Ahmed, the former director-general of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence
(ISI), was responsible for the support to the Taliban. Many of ISI officers, such as Lieutenant-General Hamid Gul, Lieutenant-General Naseem Rana
, Lieutenant-General Ziauddin Butt
and retired Colonel
Sultan Amir Tarar
, played a major role in the war. The officers provided financial, economic, strategic, and military assistance to the Taliban. Pakistan's Combatant forces were led under the military leadership of General Naseem Rana
, as he was the principle military commander of entire Pakistan's combatant forces. Training of the Taliban was provided by Colonel (retired) Tarar and, financial assistance was managed by General (retired) Hamid Gul.. Major-General Ziauddin Butt served as the intelligence coordinator under General Naseem Rana. In this entire course of the war, all of the leading generals reported to General Naseem Rana who, of course, submitted his evaluation and later brief General Musharraf on the efforts led by him in Afghanistan. General Musharraf also sent young military and paramilitary soldiers under General Naseem to fight against the Northern Alliance, and none of them were told by General Musharraf or General Naseem Rana on why they are being sent to fight the war, on behalf of Taliban, against the enemy who did not declare the war on Pakistan, The Northern Alliance. The Pakistani soldiers fought the war with Khaki Shalwar Qameez, rather than wearing official war uniform, as they were ordered by General Naseem Rana. It was done by General Naseem Rana in an attempt to hide the identity of soldiers being Pakistani, and to avoid national pressure from the Navaz Sharif government and the international pressure from the Western world.
Ahmad Shah Masood secretly sent a courier that contacted Navaz Sharif, Prime minister
at that time. Details of Pakistan Army and ISIs involvement were provided to Prime minister Sharif. When Sharif tried to intervene, General Musharraf stopped Sharif, and called Taliban as "valuable assets" and "Front-line defenders of Pakistan", therefore rejected any orders from Sharif to stop the Pakistan support for Taliban. However, in 2008, former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State
John Negroponte
had defended General Musharraf, and knew the entire history of ISI. John Negroponte clarified that time has been changed and ISI is making an effort to fight against terrorism.
Observers interviewed by Human Rights Watch in Afghanistan and Pakistan reported that Pakistan Army Aviation Corps 4th Army Aggressor Squadrons surveillance aircraft
assisted Taliban forces during combat operations in late 2000, and that senior members of Pakistan's intelligence agency and army were involved in planning major Taliban military operations. As the war progressed, Pakistan Army deployed its 50th Airborne Division and the Frontier Corps to provide logistic support to Taliban campaigns against the Massoud's forces.
was a member of the prominent Saudi bin Laden family and the founding leader of Al Qaeda. After the attacks on September 11, 2001 (in which 3 000 people died on U.S. soil), Osama bin Laden and his organization have been major targets of the United States' War on Terror
. Osama bin Laden was killed in Pakistan on May 2, 2011, shortly after 1 a.m. local time by a United States special forces military unit.
Ayman al-Zawahiri
was the second and last "emir
" of Egyptian Islamic Jihad. In 1998 al-Zawahiri formally merged Egyptian Islamic Jihad into bin Laden's organization. He is often described as a "lieutenant" to Osama bin Laden
, though bin Laden's chosen biographer has referred to him as the "real brains" of al-Qaeda. Ayman al-Zawahiri is believed to be hiding in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas by some analysts while other observers believe he might be hiding in major urban areas in Pakistan or elsewhere.
From 1996 to 2001 Osama Bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri became a virtual state within the Taliban state. Bin Laden sent Arab fighters to join the fight against the United Front, especially his so-called 055 Brigade
. Arab militants under Bin Laden were responsible for some of the worst massacres in the war, killing hundreds of civilians in areas controlled by the United Front. A report by the United Nations
quotes eyewitnesses in many villages describing Arab fighters carrying long knives used for slitting throats and skinning people. Meanwhile fighters of Bin Laden's Brigade 055 were known for committing collective suicide before running risk of being taken prisoners by enemy forces themselves.
(IMU) is a militant group formed in 1991 with strong ties to Al Qaeda.
It is estimated that the IMU in the late 1990s was approximately 2000 men strong, and that they contributed around 600 fighters to the Taliban's offensive against Massoud, participating in the siege of Taloqan
, where they fought alongside Bin Laden's 055 Brigade
. They were operating out of bases in Taliban-controlled areas of northern Afghanistan
. In 2001 the IMU was largely destroyed while fighting alongside the Taliban against the United States
-led coalition forces in Afghanistan. An unknown number of their fighters escaped with remnants of the Taliban to Waziristan
in Pakistan
where they created a follow-up organization. The IMU's longterm leader Tahir Yuldashev was killed as a result of an August 27, 2009, U.S. predator airstrike in South Waziristan
. Abu Usman succeeded him as the new leader of the IMU. Today there are an estimated 2,500 to 4,000 IMU fighters based in Pakistan's tribal regions and in Afghanistan.
. From the first day of its founding until late 1994, the newly-created Islamic State of Afghanistan (ISA) came under attack by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar
's Hezb-i Islami militia armed, financed and instructed by neighboring Pakistan. Afghanistan expert Amin Saikal
concludes in Modern Afghanistan: A History of Struggle and Survival:
Abdul Rashid Dostum
and his Junbish-i Milli militia joined an alliance with Hekmatyar in early 1994. In addition, Saudi Arabia
and Iran
- as competitors for regional hegemony
- supported Afghan militias hostile towards each other. According to Human Rights Watch, Iran was assisting the Shia Hazara Hezb-i Wahdat forces of Abdul Ali Mazari
, as Iran was attempting to maximize Wahdat's military power and influence. Saudi Arabia supported the Wahhabite Abdul Rasul Sayyaf
and his Ittihad-i Islami faction. Conflict between the two militias soon escalated into a full-scale war. The capital city Kabul
saw extremely violent fighting during that period. Power was highly decentralized.
Meanwhile, southern Afghanistan was neither under the control of foreign-backed militias nor the government in Kabul, but was ruled by local leaders such as Gul Agha Sherzai
and their militias. In 1994, the Taliban (a movement originating from Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam
-run religious schools for Afghan refugees in Pakistan) also developed in Afghanistan as a politico-religious force, reportedly in opposition to the tyranny of the local governor. In 1994, the Taliban took power in several provinces in southern and central Afghanistan.
In late 1994, most of the militia factions (Hezb-i Islami, Junbish-i Milli and Hezb-i Wahdat) which had been fighting in the battle for control of Kabul were defeated militarily in Kabul by forces of the Islamic State's Secretary of Defense Ahmad Shah Massoud. Bombardment of the capital came to a halt. Massoud tried to initiate a nationwide political process with the goal of national consolidation
and democratic elections, also inviting the Taliban to join the process. The Taliban declined. They started shelling Kabul in early 1995 but were defeated by forces of the Islamic State government under Secretary of Defense Ahmad Shah Massoud.see video Amnesty International
, referring to the Taliban offensive, wrote in a 1995 report:
The Taliban's early victories in 1994 were followed by a series of defeats that resulted in heavy losses.
On September 26, 1996, as the Taliban with military support by Pakistan and financial support by Saudi Arabia prepared for another major offensive, Massoud ordered a full retreat from Kabul. The Taliban seized Kabul on September 27, 1996, and established the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. The Islamic State government remained the internationally recognized government of Afghanistan. The Taliban's Islamic Emirate received recognition only from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates.
forces of Dostum, Hazara factions and Pashtun forces under the leadership of commanders such as Abdul Haq
, Haji Abdul Qadir, Qari Baba or diplomat Abdul Rahim Ghafoorzai
. From the Taliban conquest in 1996 until November 2001 the United Front controlled roughly 30% of Afghanistan's population in provinces such as Badakhshan
, Kapisa
, Takhar
and parts of Parwan, Kunar
, Nuristan, Laghman, Samangan
, Kunduz, Ghōr and Bamyan. This union did not consist of a "Northern Alliance" thus only the "northern states" of Afghanistan, but included resistance forces from all parts and all major ethnicities of the country.
Massoud did not intend for the United Front to become the ruling government of Afghanistan. His vision was for the United Front to help establish a new government, where the various ethnic groups would share power and live in peace through a democratic form of government.
, the Taliban, while trying to consolidate control over northern and western Afghanistan, committed systematic massacres against civilians. UN officials stated that there had been "15 massacres" between 1996 and 2001. They also said, that "[t]hese have been highly systematic and they all lead back to the [Taliban] Ministry of Defense or to Mullah Omar himself." The Taliban especially targeted Shias or Hazaras. Many civilians fled to the area of Massoud. The National Geographic concluded: "The only thing standing in the way of future Taliban massacres is Ahmad Shah Massoud."
's 13th Regular Army and the 50th Airborne Division launched an aggressive series of military operations against Panjshir and the surrounding areas. The Pakistan Army's 4th Army Aggressor Squadron provided the reconnaissance intelligence to the 13th Regular Army, 50th Airborne Division, and the Taliban forces. Meanwhile, Al-Qaida and Arab Brigades launched their own military campaign to support the Taliban hoping to gain control of the Panjshir Valley
. This operation, planned and launched under General Naseem Rana, was well planned, more organized and comprehensibly studied by Pakistan Armed Forces.
Despite the large series of organized attacks operatoins led by the General Rana of Pakistan Army and their Taliban allies, they were not able to subdue the Panjshir. Ahmad Shah Massoud, who had defeated the Soviet Union
's 40th Army in his hometown
before, successfully defended the Panjshir Valley, and diverted further assaults led by the 13th Regular Army and the 50th Airborne Division of Pakistan.
, who was not affiliated with any party, was the candidate at that time and without dissenting votes was elected as new prime minister. Ghafoorzai's program was cordially received by wide sections of the population. A first step towards a new popular government was made. Massoud had the Afghan army equipped with newly acquired military uniforms and advanced after a few large offensive to the gates of Kabul. The alliance pushed forward with tank
s, armored personnel carriers, and heavy weapons into the Bagram airbase, which was the first major victory against the Taliban since they lost Kabul. After making gains north of the capital, they met heavy resistance by Taliban forces inside Kabul. At the same time the new prime minister's airplane crashed over Bamiyan. By Ghafoorzai's death, Massoud lost his hope for a stable government in Kabul. Massoud withdrew his troops from the north of Kabul, since he did not intend to march into Kabul without having formed a government before which would be acceptable for all especially for the civilian population since that would have harbored the danger of a repetition of the 1992-1994 period.
Approximately 2,000 Taliban fighters in Kunduz were surrounded by forces of Massoud. These Taliban forces were able to survive when they allied with one of Abdul Rasul Sayyaf
's former Ittihad-i Islami commanders. Mullah Amir Khan Muttaqi, who was among these men, led an attack on 4 July 1997 against the capital of Takhar, Taloqan, which was under the control of Massoud. Although the attack failed it produced difficulties for the United Front on another front.
and Ghafar Pahlawan met with Taliban commanders Mullah Abdul Razzaq
and Mullah Ghaus in Baghdis. They agreed that Malik would betray Dostum, capture Ismail Khan
and take control of the city of Mazar-e Sharif
. Malik attacked Dostum's forces in Jawzjan on 22 May 1997, and occupied Dostum's stronghold of Sheberghan. Most of Dostum's commanders defected and joined Malik and even some of his air force pilots joined the battle on Malik's side. Although the exact details of the agreement were not clear, it appears as if the Taliban had failed to take their part. On May 25, the Taliban entered Mazar-e Sharif and began to close schools, offices and impose Sharia law. In the Hazara sections of the city, particularly in the north-east and east areas around Syedabad, local Hezb-i Wahdat commanders and armed "civilians" began to enlist themselves in resistance.
On 22 May 1997 fighting also broke out between Dostum's forces and the Taliban in Andkhoy and Khwaja Dokoh. Massoud sent reinforcements.
On May 30, heavy fighting broke out around Syedabad. Taliban fighters were ambushed. At this point, Malik changed allegiances allying his forces with Hezb-i Wahdat, taking thousands of Taliban soldiers as prisoners in Maimana, Sheberghan
and Mazar-e Sharif
. The Taliban prisoners were summarily executed, reportedly under the supervision of Malik's brother General Gul Mohammad Pahlawan. Estimates of the total number killed were 3000. Furthermore Junbish commanders such as Ghulam Haidar Jawzjani were also captured and killed, along with Salam Pahlawan and Rais Omar Bey. In the months following the defeat of the Taliban in Mazar-e Sharif, Malik then proceeded to reincorporate troops loyal to Ismail Khan
into the city's administration.
By July 1998 the Taliban had taken control of much of the area north of Herat, including the road linked to Maimana. On 8 August 1998, the Taliban re-entered Mazar-e Sharif.
Some Hezb-i Islami forces joined the Taliban during that time encircling the front lines of Hezb-i Wahdat at Qalai-Zaini-Takhta Pul. About 1,500 - 3,000 Wahdat fighters were trapped and killed by the Taliban and Hezb-i Islami. Senior commanders of Wahdat such as Muhammad Muhaqiq evacuated by helicopter.
Junbish-i Milli infighting between Dostum's forces and those of Malik furthermore created opportunities for the Taliban. The Taliban were able to surround Mazar-i Sharif from the rear, capturing Hairatan
directly across from Termez
on 20 September.
The Taliban then proceeded to enter the city where they executed approximately 4,000 civilians mostly of Hazara ethnic or Shia religious background. The Taliban, for the next 6 days were reported to have gone door to door looking for male Hazara Shias and then subsequently executing them. Thousands of prisoners were transported by both sides in metal transport truck containers were many suffocated or died of heat stroke. One Taliban hit-squad, Sipah-i Sahaba, captured the Iranian consulate where they shot dead one journalist and 8 Iranian intelligence and diplomatic officers.
amassing 250,000 Iranian soldiers on the Afghan border. It was later admitted that the diplomats were killed by the Taliban, and their bodies were returned to Iran. In September the Taliban claimed that Iran had violated its airspace
. Later Iran claimed minor clashes had occurred between the Taliban and Iran after the Taliban had allegedly led a raid
into eastern Iran, though the Taliban denied it led the raid. Eventually with UN mediation
, the tensions cooled.
in Brussels
asking the international community
to provide humanitarian help to the people of Afghanistan. He stated that the Taliban and Al Qaeda had introduced "a very wrong perception of Islam
" and that without the support of Pakistan and Bin Laden the Taliban would not be able to sustain their military campaign for up to a year. On this visit to Europe he also warned that his intelligence had gathered information about a large-scale attack on U.S. soil being imminent.
On September 9, 2001, two Arab suicide attack
ers allegedly belonging to Al Qaeda, posing as journalists, detonated a bomb hidden in a video camera while interviewing Ahmed Shah Massoud
. Commander Massoud died in a helicopter that was taking him to a hospital. In over 26 years he had survived dozens of other assassination attempts by the Soviet KGB and the Afghan communist intelligence service, the Pakistani ISI, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar
, the Taliban and Al Qaeda.
Massoud's Last Stand - Afghanistan (documentary report 1997) by Journeyman Pictures/ABC Australia
Inside the Taliban (documentary film 2007) by the National Geographic
Kabul
Kabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...
and established the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan
Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan
The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan was founded in 1996 when the Taliban began their rule of Afghanistan and ended with their fall from power in 2001...
. The Islamic State of Afghanistan
Islamic State of Afghanistan
The Islamic State of Afghanistan was the name of the state of Afghanistan after the collapse of the communist regime, the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan, in 1992. In 1996, the country was renamed the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan by the Taliban, after seizing control of the majority of the...
government remained the internationally recognized government of Afghanistan. The Taliban's Emirate received recognition only from Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
and the United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...
. The defense minister of the Islamic State of Afghanistan, Ahmad Shah Massoud, in opposition to the Taliban created the United Front
United Islamic Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan
The United Islamic Front , known in the West and Pakistan as the Northern Alliance, was a military-political umbrella organization created by the Islamic State of Afghanistan in 1996 under the leadership of Defense Minister Ahmad Shah Massoud...
(Northern Alliance). The United Front included all Afghan ethnicities: Tajiks, Uzbeks
Uzbeks
The Uzbeks are a Turkic ethnic group in Central Asia. They comprise the majority population of Uzbekistan, and large populations can also be found in Afghanistan, Tajikstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Pakistan, Mongolia and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China...
, Hazaras, Turkmens
Turkmen people
The Turkmen are a Turkic people located primarily in the Central Asian states of Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, and northeastern Iran. They speak the Turkmen language, which is classified as a part of the Western Oghuz branch of the Turkic languages family together with Turkish, Azerbaijani, Qashqai,...
, some Pashtuns and others. Massoud fought for a republic
Republic
A republic is a form of government in which the people, or some significant portion of them, have supreme control over the government and where offices of state are elected or chosen by elected people. In modern times, a common simplified definition of a republic is a government where the head of...
and national consolidation to achieve a lasting peace in Afghanistan. During the conflict, the Taliban received complementary military support by Pakistan and financial support by Saudi Arabia. Pakistan interfered militarily in Afghanistan, deploying battalions and regiments of its Frontier Corps
Frontier Corps
The Frontier Corps is a federally-controlled paramilitary force of Pakistan, recruited mostly from the tribal areas along the western borders and led by officers from the Pakistan Army...
and Army
Pakistan Army
The Pakistan Army is the branch of the Pakistani Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. The Pakistan Army came into existence after the Partition of India and the resulting independence of Pakistan in 1947. It is currently headed by General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani. The Pakistan...
against the United Front. Al Qaeda supported the Taliban with regiments of imported fighters from Arab countries and Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
. In the late period of the war of an estimated 45,000 force fighting on the side of the Taliban only 14,000 were Afghan (Taliban).
Main participants
Ahmad Shah Massoud (for the United Front and the Islamic State of Afghanistan), Mullah Mohammad OmarMohammed Omar
Mullah Mohammed Omar , often simply called Mullah Omar, is the leader of the Taliban movement that operates in Afghanistan. He was Afghanistan's de facto head of state from 1996 to late 2001, under the official title "Head of the Supreme Council"...
(for the Taliban) and Osama Bin Laden
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
together with Ayman al-Zawahiri
Ayman al-Zawahiri
Ayman Mohammed Rabie al-Zawahiri is an Egyptian physician, Islamic theologian and current leader of al-Qaeda. He was previously the second and last "emir" of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, having succeeded Abbud al-Zumar in the latter role when Egyptian authorities sentenced al-Zumar to life...
(for "Al Qaeda" and different Arab interests) were the main leaders of the war residing in Afghanistan. There were other leaders, mainly from Pakistan (like Pervez Musharraf
Pervez Musharraf
Pervez Musharraf , is a retired four-star general who served as the 13th Chief of Army Staff and tenth President of Pakistan as well as tenth Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee. Musharraf headed and led an administrative military government from October 1999 till August 2007. He ruled...
and later General Mahmud) on the one side and from the United Front (i. e. Haji Abdul Qadir, Rashid Dostum) on the other side, who, however, were not always present in Afghanistan itself. The quality of life of the Afghan population was heavily dependent on the specific leader that was directly controlling the area in which they lived. Sharp contrast could be witnessed regarding life and structures in different areas.
Ahmad Shah Massoud
Throughout much of its operational history, the United Front was headed by Ahmad Shah Massoud, a Kabul UniversityKabul University
Kabul University is located in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. It was founded in 1931 but officially opened for classes in 1932. Kabul University is currently attended by approximately 7,000 students, of which 1,700 are women. As of 2008, Hamidullah Amin is the chancellor of the university...
engineering student turned military leader who played a leading role in driving the Soviet army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
out of Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, earning him the nickname Lion of Panjshir
Panjshir Province
Panjshir is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan. Containing the Panjshir Valley, in April 2004 it was created from parts of Parwan Province, which now lies along its southwestern border. Panjshir's population is about 139,000 and covers an area of 3,610 square kilometers...
. His followers also call him Āmer Sāheb-e Shahīd (Our Beloved Martyred Commander). The Wall Street Journal at that time dedicated one of its covers to Massoud calling him "the Afghan who won the Cold War". Following the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan
Soviet war in Afghanistan
The Soviet war in Afghanistan was a nine-year conflict involving the Soviet Union, supporting the Marxist-Leninist government of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan against the Afghan Mujahideen and foreign "Arab–Afghan" volunteers...
and the subsequent collapse of the Soviet-backed government
Democratic Republic of Afghanistan
The Democratic Republic of Afghanistan was a government of Afghanistan between 1978 and 1992. It was both ideologically close to and economically dependent on the Soviet Union, and was a major belligerent of the Afghan Civil War.- Saur Revolution :...
of Mohammad Najibullah
Mohammad Najibullah
Mohammad Najibullah Ahmadzai , originally merely Najibullah, was the fourth and last President of the Soviet-backed Democratic Republic of Afghanistan. He is also considered the second President of the Republic of Afghanistan.-Early years:Najibullah was born in August 1947 to the Ahmadzai...
, Massoud became the Defense Minister in 1992 under the government of Burhanuddin Rabbani
Burhanuddin Rabbani
Professor Burhanuddin Rabbani was President of the Islamic State of Afghanistan from 1992 to 1996. After the Taliban government was toppled during Operation Enduring Freedom, Rabbani returned to Kabul and served as a temporary President from November to December 20, 2001, when Hamid Karzai was...
. Following the rise of the Taliban in 1996, Massoud returned to the role of an armed opposition leader, serving as the military commander of the United Islamic Front
United Islamic Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan
The United Islamic Front , known in the West and Pakistan as the Northern Alliance, was a military-political umbrella organization created by the Islamic State of Afghanistan in 1996 under the leadership of Defense Minister Ahmad Shah Massoud...
(Northern Alliance).
Massoud was a deeply religious and spiritual person, who strongly opposed the interpretations of Islam followed by the Taliban or Al Qaeda. A Sunni Muslim he also always carried a book of Sufi-mystic al-Ghazali with him.
The Taliban repeatedly offered Massoud a position of power to make him stop his resistance. Massoud declined for he did not fight for the sake of power. He explained in one interview:
- "The Taliban say: "Come and accept the post of prime minister and be with us", and they would keep the highest office in the country, the presidentship. But for what price?! The difference between us concerns mainly our way of thinking about the very principles of the society and the state. We can not accept their conditions of compromise, or else we would have to give up the principles of modern democracy. We are fundamentally against the system called "the Emirate of Afghanistan"."
Massoud was convinced that only a democratic system could ensure a lasting peace in Afghanistan. He wanted to convince the Taliban to join a political process leading towards democratic elections in a foreseeable future. His proposals for peace can be seen here: Proposal for Peace, promoted by Commander Massoud.
On September 9, 2001, two days before the September 11 attacks in the United States, Massoud was assassinated in Takhar Province
Takhar Province
Takhār is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. It was established in 1964 when Qataghan Province was divided into three provinces: Baghlan, Kunduz and Takhar. It is in the north-east of the country. Its capital is Taloqan. Its salt mines are one of Afghanistan's major mineral resources...
of Afghanistan by suspected al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
agents. The funeral, although taking place in a rather rural area, was attended by hundreds of thousands of mourning people. see video.
The following year, he was named "National Hero" by the order of Afghan President Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai, GCMG is the 12th and current President of Afghanistan, taking office on 7 December 2004. He became a dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001...
. The date of his death, September 9, is observed as a national holiday in Afghanistan, known as "Massoud Day." The year following his assassination, in 2002, Massoud was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize
Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel.-Background:According to Nobel's will, the Peace Prize shall be awarded to the person who...
.
One refugee who cramped his family of 27 into an old jeep to flee from the Taliban to the area of Massoud described Massoud's territory as "the last tolerant corner of Afghanistan". About his life in Massoud's area he stated:"I feel freedom here. I like ... you know, nobody bothers me. I do my job. I take care of my family. The way which I like I live in this area." Massoud had no influence on the lives of people living in the areas of Rashid Dostum (who had joined the United Front to fight the Taliban.)
In the area of Massoud women and girls did not have to wear the Afghan burqa. They were allowed to work and to go to school. In at least two known instances Massoud personally intervened against cases of forced marriage. While it was Massoud's stated conviction that men and women are equal and should enjoy the same rights, he also had to deal with Afghan traditions which he said would need a generation or more to overcome. In his opinion that could only be achieved through education.
Massoud created democratic institutions which were structured into several committees: political, health, education and economic. Still, many people came to him personally when they had a dispute or problem and asked him to solve their problems.
Hundreds of thousands of refugees fled the Taliban to the areas of Massoud. In 2001 Massoud and famous photographer and former UN ambassador Reza Deghati
Reza Deghati
Reza Deghati, born 1952 in Tabriz, Iran is an Iranian-French photojournalist, who works under the name Reza .-Biography:Reza has covered much of the globe for National Geographic Magazine. Several films about Reza's work have been produced by National Geographic Television, most notably Frontline...
described the bitter situation of the Afghan refugees and asked for humanitarian help. (see video)
Abdul QadirAbdul Qadir (Afghan leader)Hajji Abdul Qadir Arsala was a former anti-Taliban leader in the United Islamic Front in Afghanistan...
Haji Abdul Qadir Arsala (c. 1951 in Jalalabad, Afghanistan-July 6, 2002 in Kabul, Afghanistan) (Arabic: الحاج عبد القادر) was a prominent Pashtun anti-Taliban leader in the United Front. He was the brother of Abdul HaqAbdul Haq (Afghan leader)
Abdul Haq was an Afghan Pashtun mujahideen commander who fought against the Soviets and Afghan communists during the Soviet-Afghan War...
, a well-known resistance leader against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Qadir's family was a traditionally powerful one, with ties to former Afghan king Zahir Shah. Abdul Qadir had a base of power in the east of Afghanistan and was the governor of his home province of Nangarhar before the Taliban took power.
Qadir became the Vice President
Vice president
A vice president is an officer in government or business who is below a president in rank. The name comes from the Latin vice meaning 'in place of'. In some countries, the vice president is called the deputy president...
of Afghanistan in the post-Taliban administration of Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai, GCMG is the 12th and current President of Afghanistan, taking office on 7 December 2004. He became a dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001...
. On July 6, 2002, Qadir and his son-in-law were killed by gunmen. Another of his sons, Haji Mohammed Zaher, was shot dead in Kabul also in 2002.
Taliban
Mullah Muhammad Omar headed the Taliban forces during the Afghan civil war. Dressed with a coat which he claimed to be the coat of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, Mullah Omar declared himself Amir-ul-Momineen, which means Commander of the Faithful. He has rarely been photographed and hardly speaks to journalists directly. Many see Mullah Omar as a nominal figure trained and controlled by Pakistan's intelligence agency, the ISI.Followers of the Taliban claim that Mullah Omar was born in the central province of Uruzgan in 1962. Other sources place his birth in Kandahar at around 1959. They also say that he studied in several Islamic schools outside of Afghanistan especially in Quetta, Pakistan. In the 1980s he joined the resistance against the Soviet invasion. It is believed that he lost his eye fighting the Soviets as a deputy Chief Commander in the Harakat-i Islami party of Mohammad Nabi Mohammadi. In 1994 Mullah Omar liberated Kandahar from a cruel dictatorial governor in a first appearance of the Taliban movement.
Mullah Omar has strong links with another popular figure in world politics, Osama Bin Laden, and is married to a daughter of Bin Laden. Despite several US requests to hand over Osama Bin Laden, Mullah Omar refused. His current whereabouts are unknown but he is believed to hide in either Kandahar or Pakistan.
The Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) analyze: "The Taliban is the first faction laying claim to power in Afghanistan that has targeted women for extreme repression and punished them brutally for infractions. To PHR's knowledge, no other regime in the world has methodically and violently forced half of its population into virtual house arrest, prohibiting them on pain of physical punishment ..."
After taking control of the capital city of Kabul on September 26, 1996, the Taliban issued edicts forbidding women to work outside the home, attend school, or to leave their homes unless accompanied by a male relative. In public, women had to be covered from head to toe in a burqa, a body-length covering with only a mesh opening to see and breathe through. Women were not permitted to wear white (the color of the Taliban flag) socks or white shoes, or shoes that make noise while they are walking. Also, houses and buildings had to have their windows painted over so women could not be seen inside. Women were practically banned from public life, denied access to health care, education, and work and they were not allowed to laugh in a manner they could be heard by others.
The Taliban, without any real court or hearing, cut people's hands or arms off when accused of theft. Taliban hit-squads from the infamous "Ministry for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice" watched the streets conducting arbitrary brutal and public beatings of people when they saw what they considered as unislamic behavior.
Pakistan
General Pervez MusharrafPervez Musharraf
Pervez Musharraf , is a retired four-star general who served as the 13th Chief of Army Staff and tenth President of Pakistan as well as tenth Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee. Musharraf headed and led an administrative military government from October 1999 till August 2007. He ruled...
, a retired four star general who served as Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee
Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, Pakistan
The Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee , is a military administrative body of high-ranking and senior uniformed military leaders and officers in the Pakistan Defense Forces who advises the civilian Government of Pakistan, National Security Council, and Defence Minister on important military matters...
from 1998 to 2001 and the Chief of Army Staff of Pakistan Army from 1998 to 2007 played an instrumental role in drafting Pakistan's role in the Afghan civil war. In 2001, he would go on to become Pakistan's military ruler and President as well. General Pervez Musharraf was responsible for sending thousands of Pakistani nationals to fight alongside the Taliban and Bin Laden against Ahmad Shah Massoud. In total there were believed to be 28,000 Pakistani nationals fighting inside Afghanistan against the forces of Massoud. 20,000 were regular Pakistani soldiers either from the Frontier Corps
Frontier Corps
The Frontier Corps is a federally-controlled paramilitary force of Pakistan, recruited mostly from the tribal areas along the western borders and led by officers from the Pakistan Army...
, 50th Airborne Division or 12th regular army regiments, and an estimated 8,000 were militants recruited in madrassas filling regular Taliban ranks. The estimated 25,000 Taliban regular force thus comprised more than 8,000 Pakistani nationals. A 1998 document by the U.S. State Department confirms that "20-40 percent of [regular] Taliban soldiers are Pakistani." The document further states that the parents of those Pakistani nationals "know nothing regarding their child's military involvement with the Taliban until their bodies are brought back to Pakistan." A further 3,000 fighter of the regular Taliban army were Arab and Central Asian militants. Of roughly 45,000 Pakistani, Taliban and Al Qaeda soldiers fighting against the forces of Massoud only 14,000 were Afghan (Taliban).
Lieutenant-General Mahmud Ahmed, the former director-general of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence
Inter-Services Intelligence
The Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence , is Pakistan's premier intelligence agency, responsible for providing critical national security intelligence assessment to the Government of Pakistan...
(ISI), was responsible for the support to the Taliban. Many of ISI officers, such as Lieutenant-General Hamid Gul, Lieutenant-General Naseem Rana
Naseem Rana
Lieutenant-General Naseem Rana is a retired three-star general in the Pakistan Army, who in the course of Pakistan war in Afghanistan, played a pivotal role in leading the ISI in promoting Pakistani Interest during the Afghanistan Civil War to provide help to irregular hardline Taliban forces...
, Lieutenant-General Ziauddin Butt
Ziauddin Butt
General Ziauddin Khawaja, also known as Ziauddin Butt, is a four-star general of the Pakistan Army and a career operations and infantry formations commander, head of intelligence and engineering officer...
and retired Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
Sultan Amir Tarar
Colonel Imam
Colonel Sultan Amir Tarar , best known as Colonel Imam, was a Pakistan Army officer and special warfare operation specialist. He was a member of the Special Service Group of the army, an intelligence officer of the Inter-Services Intelligence and served as Pakistani Consul General at Herat,...
, played a major role in the war. The officers provided financial, economic, strategic, and military assistance to the Taliban. Pakistan's Combatant forces were led under the military leadership of General Naseem Rana
Naseem Rana
Lieutenant-General Naseem Rana is a retired three-star general in the Pakistan Army, who in the course of Pakistan war in Afghanistan, played a pivotal role in leading the ISI in promoting Pakistani Interest during the Afghanistan Civil War to provide help to irregular hardline Taliban forces...
, as he was the principle military commander of entire Pakistan's combatant forces. Training of the Taliban was provided by Colonel (retired) Tarar and, financial assistance was managed by General (retired) Hamid Gul.. Major-General Ziauddin Butt served as the intelligence coordinator under General Naseem Rana. In this entire course of the war, all of the leading generals reported to General Naseem Rana who, of course, submitted his evaluation and later brief General Musharraf on the efforts led by him in Afghanistan. General Musharraf also sent young military and paramilitary soldiers under General Naseem to fight against the Northern Alliance, and none of them were told by General Musharraf or General Naseem Rana on why they are being sent to fight the war, on behalf of Taliban, against the enemy who did not declare the war on Pakistan, The Northern Alliance. The Pakistani soldiers fought the war with Khaki Shalwar Qameez, rather than wearing official war uniform, as they were ordered by General Naseem Rana. It was done by General Naseem Rana in an attempt to hide the identity of soldiers being Pakistani, and to avoid national pressure from the Navaz Sharif government and the international pressure from the Western world.
Ahmad Shah Masood secretly sent a courier that contacted Navaz Sharif, Prime minister
Prime Minister of Pakistan
The Prime Minister of Pakistan , is the Head of Government of Pakistan who is designated to exercise as the country's Chief Executive. By the Constitution of Pakistan, Pakistan has the parliamentary democratic system of government...
at that time. Details of Pakistan Army and ISIs involvement were provided to Prime minister Sharif. When Sharif tried to intervene, General Musharraf stopped Sharif, and called Taliban as "valuable assets" and "Front-line defenders of Pakistan", therefore rejected any orders from Sharif to stop the Pakistan support for Taliban. However, in 2008, former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State
United States Deputy Secretary of State
The Deputy Secretary of State of the United States is the chief assistant to the Secretary of State. If the Secretary of State resigns or dies, the Deputy Secretary of State becomes Acting Secretary of State until the President nominates and the Senate confirms a replacement. The position was...
John Negroponte
John Negroponte
John Dimitri Negroponte is an American diplomat. He is currently a research fellow and lecturer in international affairs at Yale University's Jackson Institute for Global Affairs...
had defended General Musharraf, and knew the entire history of ISI. John Negroponte clarified that time has been changed and ISI is making an effort to fight against terrorism.
Observers interviewed by Human Rights Watch in Afghanistan and Pakistan reported that Pakistan Army Aviation Corps 4th Army Aggressor Squadrons surveillance aircraft
Surveillance aircraft
A surveillance aircraft is an aircraft used for surveillance — collecting information over time. They are operated by military forces and other government agencies in roles such as intelligence gathering, battlefield surveillance, airspace surveillance, observation , border patrol and fishery...
assisted Taliban forces during combat operations in late 2000, and that senior members of Pakistan's intelligence agency and army were involved in planning major Taliban military operations. As the war progressed, Pakistan Army deployed its 50th Airborne Division and the Frontier Corps to provide logistic support to Taliban campaigns against the Massoud's forces.
Cooperation on Afghanistan with Saudi Arabia
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have created a deep strategic partnership on a variety of issues one of the more important being Afghanistan. After Musharraf's coup in October 1999, the Saudi capital Riyadh was the first foreign capital Pervez Musharraf visited, to signify the importance he gave to PAK-Saudi relations. President Musharraf honored King Abdullah by conferring upon him Pakistan's highest civil award, Nishan-e-Pakistan, in a colorful investiture ceremony at the presidential palace. On 21 Jan 2007, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah conferred the King Abdul Aziz Medallion, the Kingdom's top honor, on Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf during a ceremony at his palace in Riyadh. The first Pakistani leader ever to receive this highest Saudi honor.Al-Qaeda
Osama bin LadenOsama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
was a member of the prominent Saudi bin Laden family and the founding leader of Al Qaeda. After the attacks on September 11, 2001 (in which 3 000 people died on U.S. soil), Osama bin Laden and his organization have been major targets of the United States' War on Terror
War on Terror
The War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries...
. Osama bin Laden was killed in Pakistan on May 2, 2011, shortly after 1 a.m. local time by a United States special forces military unit.
Ayman al-Zawahiri
Ayman al-Zawahiri
Ayman Mohammed Rabie al-Zawahiri is an Egyptian physician, Islamic theologian and current leader of al-Qaeda. He was previously the second and last "emir" of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, having succeeded Abbud al-Zumar in the latter role when Egyptian authorities sentenced al-Zumar to life...
was the second and last "emir
Emir
Emir , meaning "commander", "general", or "prince"; also transliterated as Amir, Aamir or Ameer) is a title of high office, used throughout the Muslim world...
" of Egyptian Islamic Jihad. In 1998 al-Zawahiri formally merged Egyptian Islamic Jihad into bin Laden's organization. He is often described as a "lieutenant" to Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
, though bin Laden's chosen biographer has referred to him as the "real brains" of al-Qaeda. Ayman al-Zawahiri is believed to be hiding in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas by some analysts while other observers believe he might be hiding in major urban areas in Pakistan or elsewhere.
From 1996 to 2001 Osama Bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri became a virtual state within the Taliban state. Bin Laden sent Arab fighters to join the fight against the United Front, especially his so-called 055 Brigade
055 Brigade
The 055 Brigade was an elite guerrilla organization sponsored and trained by Al Qaeda that was integrated into the Taliban army between 1995 and 2001...
. Arab militants under Bin Laden were responsible for some of the worst massacres in the war, killing hundreds of civilians in areas controlled by the United Front. A report by the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
quotes eyewitnesses in many villages describing Arab fighters carrying long knives used for slitting throats and skinning people. Meanwhile fighters of Bin Laden's Brigade 055 were known for committing collective suicide before running risk of being taken prisoners by enemy forces themselves.
Strategic Cooperation with the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU)
The Islamic Movement of UzbekistanIslamic Movement of Uzbekistan
The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan is a militant Islamist group formed in 1991 by the Islamic ideologue Tahir Yuldashev, and former Soviet paratrooper Juma Namangani—both ethnic Uzbeks from the Fergana Valley...
(IMU) is a militant group formed in 1991 with strong ties to Al Qaeda.
It is estimated that the IMU in the late 1990s was approximately 2000 men strong, and that they contributed around 600 fighters to the Taliban's offensive against Massoud, participating in the siege of Taloqan
Taloqan
Tāloqān is the capital of Takhar Province, in northern Afghanistan. It is located in the Taluqan District. The population was estimated as 196,400 in 2006.-History:The old city to the west on the riverside was described by Marco Polo in 1275 CE as:...
, where they fought alongside Bin Laden's 055 Brigade
055 Brigade
The 055 Brigade was an elite guerrilla organization sponsored and trained by Al Qaeda that was integrated into the Taliban army between 1995 and 2001...
. They were operating out of bases in Taliban-controlled areas of northern Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
. In 2001 the IMU was largely destroyed while fighting alongside the Taliban against the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
-led coalition forces in Afghanistan. An unknown number of their fighters escaped with remnants of the Taliban to Waziristan
Waziristan
Waziristan is a mountainous region near the Northwest of Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and covering some 11,585 km² . The area is entirely populated by ethnic Pashtuns . The language spoken in the valley is Pashto/Pakhto...
in Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
where they created a follow-up organization. The IMU's longterm leader Tahir Yuldashev was killed as a result of an August 27, 2009, U.S. predator airstrike in South Waziristan
South Waziristan
South Waziristan is the southern part of Waziristan, a mountainous region of northwest Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and covering some 11,585 km² . Waziristan comprises the area west and southwest of Peshawar between the Tochi River to the north and the Gomal River to the south, forming...
. Abu Usman succeeded him as the new leader of the IMU. Today there are an estimated 2,500 to 4,000 IMU fighters based in Pakistan's tribal regions and in Afghanistan.
Taliban rise to power
After the fall of the communist Najibullah-regime in 1992, the Afghan political parties agreed on a peace and power-sharing agreement (the Peshawar Accords). The Peshawar Accords created the Islamic State of AfghanistanIslamic State of Afghanistan
The Islamic State of Afghanistan was the name of the state of Afghanistan after the collapse of the communist regime, the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan, in 1992. In 1996, the country was renamed the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan by the Taliban, after seizing control of the majority of the...
. From the first day of its founding until late 1994, the newly-created Islamic State of Afghanistan (ISA) came under attack by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar is an Afghan Mujahideen leader who is the founder and leader of the Hezb-e Islami political party and paramilitary group. Hekmatyar was a rebel military commander during the 1980s Soviet war in Afghanistan and was one of the key figures in the civil war that followed the...
's Hezb-i Islami militia armed, financed and instructed by neighboring Pakistan. Afghanistan expert Amin Saikal
Amin Saikal
Professor Amin Saikal is Director of the Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies and Professor of Political Science at the Australian National University. Professor Saikal has specialised in the politics, history, political economy and international relations of the Middle East and Central Asia...
concludes in Modern Afghanistan: A History of Struggle and Survival:
Abdul Rashid Dostum
Abdul Rashid Dostum
Abdul Rashid Dostum is a former pro-Soviet fighter during the Soviet war in Afghanistan and is considered by many to be the leader of Afghanistan's Uzbek community and the party Junbish-e Milli-yi Islami-yi Afghanistan...
and his Junbish-i Milli militia joined an alliance with Hekmatyar in early 1994. In addition, Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
and Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
- as competitors for regional hegemony
Hegemony
Hegemony is an indirect form of imperial dominance in which the hegemon rules sub-ordinate states by the implied means of power rather than direct military force. In Ancient Greece , hegemony denoted the politico–military dominance of a city-state over other city-states...
- supported Afghan militias hostile towards each other. According to Human Rights Watch, Iran was assisting the Shia Hazara Hezb-i Wahdat forces of Abdul Ali Mazari
Abdul Ali Mazari
Abdul Ali Mazari was a political leader of the Hezbe Wahdat during and following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Mazari was an ethnic Hazara, and believed the solution to the divisiveness in Afghanistan was in federalism, where every ethnic group would have specific constitutional...
, as Iran was attempting to maximize Wahdat's military power and influence. Saudi Arabia supported the Wahhabite Abdul Rasul Sayyaf
Abdul Rasul Sayyaf
Ustad Abdul Rab Rasul Sayyaf is an Afghan Islamist politician. He took part in the war against the PDPA government in the 1980s, leading the Mujahedin faction Islamic Union for the Liberation of Afghanistan....
and his Ittihad-i Islami faction. Conflict between the two militias soon escalated into a full-scale war. The capital city Kabul
Kabul
Kabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...
saw extremely violent fighting during that period. Power was highly decentralized.
Meanwhile, southern Afghanistan was neither under the control of foreign-backed militias nor the government in Kabul, but was ruled by local leaders such as Gul Agha Sherzai
Gul Agha Sherzai
Gul Agha Sherzai is the current Governor of Nangarhar province in Afghanistan.He previously served as Governor of Kandahar province, in the early 1990s and from 2001 until 2003.-Biography:...
and their militias. In 1994, the Taliban (a movement originating from Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam
Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam
The Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam is a political party in Pakistan. It formed a combined government in national elections in 2002 and 2008...
-run religious schools for Afghan refugees in Pakistan) also developed in Afghanistan as a politico-religious force, reportedly in opposition to the tyranny of the local governor. In 1994, the Taliban took power in several provinces in southern and central Afghanistan.
In late 1994, most of the militia factions (Hezb-i Islami, Junbish-i Milli and Hezb-i Wahdat) which had been fighting in the battle for control of Kabul were defeated militarily in Kabul by forces of the Islamic State's Secretary of Defense Ahmad Shah Massoud. Bombardment of the capital came to a halt. Massoud tried to initiate a nationwide political process with the goal of national consolidation
Democratic consolidation
Democratic consolidation is the process by which a new democracy matures, in a way that means it is unlikely to revert to authoritarianism without an external shock...
and democratic elections, also inviting the Taliban to join the process. The Taliban declined. They started shelling Kabul in early 1995 but were defeated by forces of the Islamic State government under Secretary of Defense Ahmad Shah Massoud.see video Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
, referring to the Taliban offensive, wrote in a 1995 report:
The Taliban's early victories in 1994 were followed by a series of defeats that resulted in heavy losses.
On September 26, 1996, as the Taliban with military support by Pakistan and financial support by Saudi Arabia prepared for another major offensive, Massoud ordered a full retreat from Kabul. The Taliban seized Kabul on September 27, 1996, and established the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. The Islamic State government remained the internationally recognized government of Afghanistan. The Taliban's Islamic Emirate received recognition only from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates.
Creation of the United Front
Ahmad Shah Massoud and Abdul Rashid Dostum, two former archenemies, created the United Front (Northern Alliance) against the Taliban that were preparing offensives against the remaining areas under the control of Massoud and those under the control of Dostum. see video The United Front included beside the dominantly Tajik forces of Massoud and the UzbekUzbeks
The Uzbeks are a Turkic ethnic group in Central Asia. They comprise the majority population of Uzbekistan, and large populations can also be found in Afghanistan, Tajikstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Pakistan, Mongolia and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China...
forces of Dostum, Hazara factions and Pashtun forces under the leadership of commanders such as Abdul Haq
Abdul Haq (Afghan leader)
Abdul Haq was an Afghan Pashtun mujahideen commander who fought against the Soviets and Afghan communists during the Soviet-Afghan War...
, Haji Abdul Qadir, Qari Baba or diplomat Abdul Rahim Ghafoorzai
Abdul Rahim Ghafoorzai
Abdul Rahim Ghafoorzai was a politician and diplomat of Afghanistan. He was an ethnic Pashtun, a member of the Mohammadzai tribe. During the 1970s he entered the Afghan foreign service. He was sent to the United States to represent the political administration supported by the Soviet Union. As...
. From the Taliban conquest in 1996 until November 2001 the United Front controlled roughly 30% of Afghanistan's population in provinces such as Badakhshan
Badakhshan Province
Badakhshan is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, consisting of 28 districts. It is located in the north-east of the country, between the Hindu Kush and the Amu Darya. It is part of the Badakhshan region.-Geography:...
, Kapisa
Kapisa Province
Kapisa is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan. It is in the north-east of the country. Its capital is Mahmud-i-Raqi, and other districts include Kohistan, Nijrab and Tagab. The population of Kapisa is estimated to be 364,900, although there has never been an official estimate...
, Takhar
Takhar Province
Takhār is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. It was established in 1964 when Qataghan Province was divided into three provinces: Baghlan, Kunduz and Takhar. It is in the north-east of the country. Its capital is Taloqan. Its salt mines are one of Afghanistan's major mineral resources...
and parts of Parwan, Kunar
Kunar Province
Kunar is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the northeastern part of the country. Its capital is Asadabad. It is one of the four "N2KL" provinces...
, Nuristan, Laghman, Samangan
Samangan Province
Samangan is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. The province covers and has a population of approximately 313,211, as of 2006.Its capital, Samangan, is known for its ancient ruins including, notably, the Takht e Rostam...
, Kunduz, Ghōr and Bamyan. This union did not consist of a "Northern Alliance" thus only the "northern states" of Afghanistan, but included resistance forces from all parts and all major ethnicities of the country.
Massoud did not intend for the United Front to become the ruling government of Afghanistan. His vision was for the United Front to help establish a new government, where the various ethnic groups would share power and live in peace through a democratic form of government.
Taliban massacres
According to a 55-page report by the United NationsUnited Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
, the Taliban, while trying to consolidate control over northern and western Afghanistan, committed systematic massacres against civilians. UN officials stated that there had been "15 massacres" between 1996 and 2001. They also said, that "[t]hese have been highly systematic and they all lead back to the [Taliban] Ministry of Defense or to Mullah Omar himself." The Taliban especially targeted Shias or Hazaras. Many civilians fled to the area of Massoud. The National Geographic concluded: "The only thing standing in the way of future Taliban massacres is Ahmad Shah Massoud."
Panjshir
The Taliban with the support of the Pakistan ArmyPakistan Army
The Pakistan Army is the branch of the Pakistani Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. The Pakistan Army came into existence after the Partition of India and the resulting independence of Pakistan in 1947. It is currently headed by General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani. The Pakistan...
's 13th Regular Army and the 50th Airborne Division launched an aggressive series of military operations against Panjshir and the surrounding areas. The Pakistan Army's 4th Army Aggressor Squadron provided the reconnaissance intelligence to the 13th Regular Army, 50th Airborne Division, and the Taliban forces. Meanwhile, Al-Qaida and Arab Brigades launched their own military campaign to support the Taliban hoping to gain control of the Panjshir Valley
Panjshir Valley
The Panjshir Province is a valley in north-central Afghanistan, 150 km north of Kabul, near the Hindu Kush mountain range. Located in the Panjshir Province it is divided by the Panjshir River...
. This operation, planned and launched under General Naseem Rana, was well planned, more organized and comprehensibly studied by Pakistan Armed Forces.
Despite the large series of organized attacks operatoins led by the General Rana of Pakistan Army and their Taliban allies, they were not able to subdue the Panjshir. Ahmad Shah Massoud, who had defeated the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
's 40th Army in his hometown
Panjshir offensives
The Panjshir offensives were a series of battles between the Soviet Army and groups of Afghan Mujahideen under Ahmad Shah Massoud for the control of the strategic Panjshir Valley, during the Soviet war in Afghanistan in the period from 1980 to 1985....
before, successfully defended the Panjshir Valley, and diverted further assaults led by the 13th Regular Army and the 50th Airborne Division of Pakistan.
Kabul and Kunduz
The Islamic State's Secretary of Defense Ahmad Shah Massoud, who still represented the legitimate government as recognized by the international community and the United Nations, in 1997 summoned a conference under his leadership to decide on a future government and prime minister. The Pashtun Abdul Rahim GhafoorzaiAbdul Rahim Ghafoorzai
Abdul Rahim Ghafoorzai was a politician and diplomat of Afghanistan. He was an ethnic Pashtun, a member of the Mohammadzai tribe. During the 1970s he entered the Afghan foreign service. He was sent to the United States to represent the political administration supported by the Soviet Union. As...
, who was not affiliated with any party, was the candidate at that time and without dissenting votes was elected as new prime minister. Ghafoorzai's program was cordially received by wide sections of the population. A first step towards a new popular government was made. Massoud had the Afghan army equipped with newly acquired military uniforms and advanced after a few large offensive to the gates of Kabul. The alliance pushed forward with tank
Tank
A tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...
s, armored personnel carriers, and heavy weapons into the Bagram airbase, which was the first major victory against the Taliban since they lost Kabul. After making gains north of the capital, they met heavy resistance by Taliban forces inside Kabul. At the same time the new prime minister's airplane crashed over Bamiyan. By Ghafoorzai's death, Massoud lost his hope for a stable government in Kabul. Massoud withdrew his troops from the north of Kabul, since he did not intend to march into Kabul without having formed a government before which would be acceptable for all especially for the civilian population since that would have harbored the danger of a repetition of the 1992-1994 period.
Approximately 2,000 Taliban fighters in Kunduz were surrounded by forces of Massoud. These Taliban forces were able to survive when they allied with one of Abdul Rasul Sayyaf
Abdul Rasul Sayyaf
Ustad Abdul Rab Rasul Sayyaf is an Afghan Islamist politician. He took part in the war against the PDPA government in the 1980s, leading the Mujahedin faction Islamic Union for the Liberation of Afghanistan....
's former Ittihad-i Islami commanders. Mullah Amir Khan Muttaqi, who was among these men, led an attack on 4 July 1997 against the capital of Takhar, Taloqan, which was under the control of Massoud. Although the attack failed it produced difficulties for the United Front on another front.
Mazar-i Sharif
In May 1997, angry at Dostum's alleged involvement in the assassination of his brother, Abdul Malik Pahlawan and other commanders such as Qari Alam Rosekh, General Abdul Majid RouziAbdul Majid Rouzi
General Abdul Majid Rouzi was an Uzbek commander of Arab Descent during the Afghan Civil war. He was allied with the forces of General Abdul Rashid Dostum....
and Ghafar Pahlawan met with Taliban commanders Mullah Abdul Razzaq
Abdul Razzaq (Taliban Governor)
Mullah Abdul Razzaq, a Durrani Pashtun from Kandahar, Afghanistan, was former minister of the interior for the Taliban, and the governor of Herat....
and Mullah Ghaus in Baghdis. They agreed that Malik would betray Dostum, capture Ismail Khan
Ismail Khan
Ismail Khan is a politician and former mujahideen commander from Afghanistan. Born in the western Afghan city of Herat, he rose to become a powerful rebel commander during in the Soviet War in Afghanistan, and then a key member of the Northern Alliance until finally becoming the Governor of Herat...
and take control of the city of Mazar-e Sharif
Mazar-e Sharif
Mazār-i-Sharīf or Mazār-e Sharīf is the fourth largest city of Afghanistan, with a population of about 375,000 as of 2006. It is the capital of Balkh province and is linked by roads to Kunduz in the east, Kabul in the south-east, Herat to the west and Uzbekistan to the north...
. Malik attacked Dostum's forces in Jawzjan on 22 May 1997, and occupied Dostum's stronghold of Sheberghan. Most of Dostum's commanders defected and joined Malik and even some of his air force pilots joined the battle on Malik's side. Although the exact details of the agreement were not clear, it appears as if the Taliban had failed to take their part. On May 25, the Taliban entered Mazar-e Sharif and began to close schools, offices and impose Sharia law. In the Hazara sections of the city, particularly in the north-east and east areas around Syedabad, local Hezb-i Wahdat commanders and armed "civilians" began to enlist themselves in resistance.
On 22 May 1997 fighting also broke out between Dostum's forces and the Taliban in Andkhoy and Khwaja Dokoh. Massoud sent reinforcements.
On May 30, heavy fighting broke out around Syedabad. Taliban fighters were ambushed. At this point, Malik changed allegiances allying his forces with Hezb-i Wahdat, taking thousands of Taliban soldiers as prisoners in Maimana, Sheberghan
Sheberghan
Sheberghān or Shaburghān , also spelled Shebirghan and Shibarghan, is the capital city of the Jowzjan Province in northern Afghanistan.-Location:...
and Mazar-e Sharif
Mazar-e Sharif
Mazār-i-Sharīf or Mazār-e Sharīf is the fourth largest city of Afghanistan, with a population of about 375,000 as of 2006. It is the capital of Balkh province and is linked by roads to Kunduz in the east, Kabul in the south-east, Herat to the west and Uzbekistan to the north...
. The Taliban prisoners were summarily executed, reportedly under the supervision of Malik's brother General Gul Mohammad Pahlawan. Estimates of the total number killed were 3000. Furthermore Junbish commanders such as Ghulam Haidar Jawzjani were also captured and killed, along with Salam Pahlawan and Rais Omar Bey. In the months following the defeat of the Taliban in Mazar-e Sharif, Malik then proceeded to reincorporate troops loyal to Ismail Khan
Ismail Khan
Ismail Khan is a politician and former mujahideen commander from Afghanistan. Born in the western Afghan city of Herat, he rose to become a powerful rebel commander during in the Soviet War in Afghanistan, and then a key member of the Northern Alliance until finally becoming the Governor of Herat...
into the city's administration.
By July 1998 the Taliban had taken control of much of the area north of Herat, including the road linked to Maimana. On 8 August 1998, the Taliban re-entered Mazar-e Sharif.
Some Hezb-i Islami forces joined the Taliban during that time encircling the front lines of Hezb-i Wahdat at Qalai-Zaini-Takhta Pul. About 1,500 - 3,000 Wahdat fighters were trapped and killed by the Taliban and Hezb-i Islami. Senior commanders of Wahdat such as Muhammad Muhaqiq evacuated by helicopter.
Junbish-i Milli infighting between Dostum's forces and those of Malik furthermore created opportunities for the Taliban. The Taliban were able to surround Mazar-i Sharif from the rear, capturing Hairatan
Hairatan
Hairatan is a border town in the north of Balkh province, Afghanistan, on the Amu Darya river. The river forms the border with Uzbekistan, and the two nations are connected by the Afghanistan–Uzbekistan Friendship Bridge. The city of Termez in Uzbekistan is close to Hairatan...
directly across from Termez
Termez
Termez is a city in southern Uzbekistan near the border with Afghanistan.Some link the name of the city to thermos, "hot" in Greek, tracing its name back to Alexander the Great. Others suggest that it came from Sanskrit taramato, meaning "on the river bank". It is the hottest point of Uzbekistan...
on 20 September.
The Taliban then proceeded to enter the city where they executed approximately 4,000 civilians mostly of Hazara ethnic or Shia religious background. The Taliban, for the next 6 days were reported to have gone door to door looking for male Hazara Shias and then subsequently executing them. Thousands of prisoners were transported by both sides in metal transport truck containers were many suffocated or died of heat stroke. One Taliban hit-squad, Sipah-i Sahaba, captured the Iranian consulate where they shot dead one journalist and 8 Iranian intelligence and diplomatic officers.
Return of Ismail Khan
In March 1997, Ismail Khan (United Front) returned from Iran. He led approximately 2,000 fighters to fight the Taliban in Badghis and push them to approximately 20 kilometers north of the Mughrab river leading to Qala-i Naw. The Taliban's advance was halted but significant gains could not be made by either side.Iran-Taliban Crisis
Among those killed in Mazar-i Sharif were several Iranian diplomats. Others were kidnapped by the Taliban, touching off a hostage crisis that nearly escalated to a full scale war, with IranIran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
amassing 250,000 Iranian soldiers on the Afghan border. It was later admitted that the diplomats were killed by the Taliban, and their bodies were returned to Iran. In September the Taliban claimed that Iran had violated its airspace
Airspace
Airspace means the portion of the atmosphere controlled by a country above its territory, including its territorial waters or, more generally, any specific three-dimensional portion of the atmosphere....
. Later Iran claimed minor clashes had occurred between the Taliban and Iran after the Taliban had allegedly led a raid
Raid (military)
Raid, also known as depredation, is a military tactic or operational warfare mission which has a specific purpose and is not normally intended to capture and hold terrain, but instead finish with the raiding force quickly retreating to a previous defended position prior to the enemy forces being...
into eastern Iran, though the Taliban denied it led the raid. Eventually with UN mediation
Mediation
Mediation, as used in law, is a form of alternative dispute resolution , a way of resolving disputes between two or more parties. A third party, the mediator, assists the parties to negotiate their own settlement...
, the tensions cooled.
Assassination of Massoud
In early 2001 Massoud addressed the European ParliamentEuropean Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
asking the international community
International community
The international community is a term used in international relations to refer to all peoples, cultures and governments of the world or to a group of them. The term is used to imply the existence of common duties and obligations between them...
to provide humanitarian help to the people of Afghanistan. He stated that the Taliban and Al Qaeda had introduced "a very wrong perception of Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
" and that without the support of Pakistan and Bin Laden the Taliban would not be able to sustain their military campaign for up to a year. On this visit to Europe he also warned that his intelligence had gathered information about a large-scale attack on U.S. soil being imminent.
On September 9, 2001, two Arab suicide attack
Suicide attack
A suicide attack is a type of attack in which the attacker expects or intends to die in the process.- Historical :...
ers allegedly belonging to Al Qaeda, posing as journalists, detonated a bomb hidden in a video camera while interviewing Ahmed Shah Massoud
Ahmed Shah Massoud
Ahmad Shah Massoud was a Kabul University engineering student turned military leader who played a leading role in driving the Soviet army out of Afghanistan, earning him the name Lion of Panjshir. His followers call him Āmir Sāhib-e Shahīd...
. Commander Massoud died in a helicopter that was taking him to a hospital. In over 26 years he had survived dozens of other assassination attempts by the Soviet KGB and the Afghan communist intelligence service, the Pakistani ISI, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar is an Afghan Mujahideen leader who is the founder and leader of the Hezb-e Islami political party and paramilitary group. Hekmatyar was a rebel military commander during the 1980s Soviet war in Afghanistan and was one of the key figures in the civil war that followed the...
, the Taliban and Al Qaeda.
Defeat of the Taliban in Kabul
For many days the United Front denied the death of Massoud for fear of desperation among their people. In the end the slogan "Now we are all Massoud" became a unifying battle cry. After the attacks of September 11, 2001, on U.S. soil which killed 3000 people, ground troops of the United Front ousted the Taliban from power in Kabul. In November and December 2001 the United Front gained control of much of the country. This was facilitated by extensive bombing of Taliban forces and military infrastructure by the United States during the U.S.-led attack on Afghanistan.External links
Starving to Death Afghanistan (documentary report March 1996) by Journeyman Pictures/ABC AustraliaMassoud's Last Stand - Afghanistan (documentary report 1997) by Journeyman Pictures/ABC Australia
Inside the Taliban (documentary film 2007) by the National Geographic