Operation Enduring Freedom Fast Facts

CNN Editorial Research

Updated 2041 GMT (0441 HKT) December 24, 2019

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A US soldier puts a blanket on a detainee during a mission in southeast Afghanistan in 2004. American troops went to fight in Afghanistan following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The combat mission, code-named Operation Enduring Freedom, lasted for 13 years until being <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2014/12/28/politics/obama-afghanistan-end-of-combat/" target="_blank">brought to an end</a> in December 2014. Thousands of American troops are still in the country, however, as part of the NATO effort to train and advise Afghan security forces. Some US forces are also carrying out counterterrorism missions in the country.
Photos: Afghanistan: America's longest war
A US soldier puts a blanket on a detainee during a mission in southeast Afghanistan in 2004. American troops went to fight in Afghanistan following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The combat mission, code-named Operation Enduring Freedom, lasted for 13 years until being brought to an end in December 2014. Thousands of American troops are still in the country, however, as part of the NATO effort to train and advise Afghan security forces. Some US forces are also carrying out counterterrorism missions in the country.
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In this image taken from video, US President George W. Bush addresses the nation from the White House on October 7, 2001. He announced that US and British forces had begun airstrikes on Taliban and al Qaeda targets in Afghanistan. The United States linked the Sept. 11 attacks to al Qaeda, a group that operated under the protection of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. The military operation was launched to stop the Taliban from providing a safe haven to al Qaeda and to stop al Qaeda's use of Afghanistan as a base for terrorist activities.
Photos: Afghanistan: America's longest war
In this image taken from video, US President George W. Bush addresses the nation from the White House on October 7, 2001. He announced that US and British forces had begun airstrikes on Taliban and al Qaeda targets in Afghanistan. The United States linked the Sept. 11 attacks to al Qaeda, a group that operated under the protection of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. The military operation was launched to stop the Taliban from providing a safe haven to al Qaeda and to stop al Qaeda's use of Afghanistan as a base for terrorist activities.
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Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden is seen at an undisclosed location in this television image broadcast on October 7, 2001. Bin Laden praised God for the Sept. 11 attacks and swore America "will never dream of security" until "the infidel's armies leave the land of Muhammad."
Photos: Afghanistan: America's longest war
Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden is seen at an undisclosed location in this television image broadcast on October 7, 2001. Bin Laden praised God for the Sept. 11 attacks and swore America "will never dream of security" until "the infidel's armies leave the land of Muhammad."
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Soldiers with the Afghan Northern Alliance ride in a truck on October 19, 2001. They were opposition forces allied with the United States in its fight against the Taliban.
Photos: Afghanistan: America's longest war
Soldiers with the Afghan Northern Alliance ride in a truck on October 19, 2001. They were opposition forces allied with the United States in its fight against the Taliban.
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An aerial photo, released by the US Department of Defense on October 31, 2001, shows damage to a reported terrorist training camp in Afghanistan. US planes bombed the Taliban front line north of the Afghan capital of Kabul.
Photos: Afghanistan: America's longest war
An aerial photo, released by the US Department of Defense on October 31, 2001, shows damage to a reported terrorist training camp in Afghanistan. US planes bombed the Taliban front line north of the Afghan capital of Kabul.
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US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, right, speaks to the press during a Pentagon briefing on November 6, 2001. Rumsfeld said the United States had more than doubled the number of its troops based in Afghanistan. Other countries also contributed troops to the coalition.
Photos: Afghanistan: America's longest war
US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, right, speaks to the press during a Pentagon briefing on November 6, 2001. Rumsfeld said the United States had more than doubled the number of its troops based in Afghanistan. Other countries also contributed troops to the coalition.
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Afghan refugees reach for bags of rice and sugar being handed out by a local aid organization near Chaman, Pakistan, on December 4, 2001. Tens of thousands of Afghans had crossed the border since the 9/11 attacks.
Photos: Afghanistan: America's longest war
Afghan refugees reach for bags of rice and sugar being handed out by a local aid organization near Chaman, Pakistan, on December 4, 2001. Tens of thousands of Afghans had crossed the border since the 9/11 attacks.
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Al Qaeda prisoners are held in Agom, Afghanistan, on December 17, 2001. Afghan militia leaders declared victory in the battle of Tora Bora and claimed to have captured al Qaeda's last base.
Photos: Afghanistan: America's longest war
Al Qaeda prisoners are held in Agom, Afghanistan, on December 17, 2001. Afghan militia leaders declared victory in the battle of Tora Bora and claimed to have captured al Qaeda's last base.
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A Northern Alliance fighter bursts into laughter as US planes strike a Taliban position near Tora Bora, Afghanistan, in December 2001.
Photos: Afghanistan: America's longest war
A Northern Alliance fighter bursts into laughter as US planes strike a Taliban position near Tora Bora, Afghanistan, in December 2001.
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A detainee is escorted by military police at the US naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, on February 6, 2002. The base's detention facilities had been repurposed to hold detainees from the US "war on terror."
Photos: Afghanistan: America's longest war
A detainee is escorted by military police at the US naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, on February 6, 2002. The base's detention facilities had been repurposed to hold detainees from the US "war on terror."
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Mullah Mohammed Omar, the man credited with creating the Taliban, is seen in this photo that spread in 2002. The Afghan government said in a news release that he died in Pakistan in 2013. The White House confirmed his death in 2015 but said "the exact circumstances of his death remain uncertain."
Photos: Afghanistan: America's longest war
Mullah Mohammed Omar, the man credited with creating the Taliban, is seen in this photo that spread in 2002. The Afghan government said in a news release that he died in Pakistan in 2013. The White House confirmed his death in 2015 but said "the exact circumstances of his death remain uncertain."
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