US War in Afghanistan

CNN Editorial Research

Updated 1507 GMT (2307 HKT) September 2, 2021

US soldiers fire artillery in Afghanistan's Kandahar province in June 2011. Operation Enduring Freedom was launched in October 2001 to stop the Taliban regime from providing a safe haven to al Qaeda and to stop al Qaeda's use of Afghanistan as a base of operations for terrorist activities.
Photos: America's longest war
US soldiers fire artillery in Afghanistan's Kandahar province in June 2011. Operation Enduring Freedom was launched in October 2001 to stop the Taliban regime from providing a safe haven to al Qaeda and to stop al Qaeda's use of Afghanistan as a base of operations for terrorist activities.
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Thousands of Taliban supporters rally in Quetta, Pakistan, near the Afghan border, on October 1, 2001.
Photos: America's longest war
Thousands of Taliban supporters rally in Quetta, Pakistan, near the Afghan border, on October 1, 2001.
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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 September 11 attacks and swore America "will never dream of security" until "the infidel's armies leave the land of Muhammad."
Photos: 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 September 11 attacks and swore America "will never dream of security" until "the infidel's armies leave the land of Muhammad."
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A Tomahawk cruise missile is launched from a US ship in the Arabian Sea on October 7, 2001. American and British forces began airstrikes in Afghanistan, targeting al Qaeda and the Taliban regime that had been giving al Qaeda protection.
Photos: America's longest war
A Tomahawk cruise missile is launched from a US ship in the Arabian Sea on October 7, 2001. American and British forces began airstrikes in Afghanistan, targeting al Qaeda and the Taliban regime that had been giving al Qaeda protection.
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Members of the Afghan Northern Alliance, an anti-Taliban group, kill a wounded Taliban fighter they found while advancing toward Kabul, Afghanistan, in November 2001. US airstrikes and Northern Alliance ground attacks led to the fall of Kabul that month.
Photos: America's longest war
Members of the Afghan Northern Alliance, an anti-Taliban group, kill a wounded Taliban fighter they found while advancing toward Kabul, Afghanistan, in November 2001. US airstrikes and Northern Alliance ground attacks led to the fall of Kabul that month.
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An Afghan Northern Alliance fighter bursts into laughter as US planes strike a Taliban position near Tora Bora, Afghanistan, in December 2001. Afghan militia leaders declared victory in the battle of Tora Bora and claimed to have captured al Qaeda's last base.
Photos: America's longest war
An Afghan Northern Alliance fighter bursts into laughter as US planes strike a Taliban position near Tora Bora, Afghanistan, in December 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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Renae Chapman holds her 2-year-old daughter, Amanda, during the funeral service for her husband, Army Sgt. 1st Class Nathan R. Chapman, in Fort Lewis, Washington, in January 2002. He was the first US soldier to be killed by enemy fire during the war in Afghanistan.
Photos: America's longest war
Renae Chapman holds her 2-year-old daughter, Amanda, during the funeral service for her husband, Army Sgt. 1st Class Nathan R. Chapman, in Fort Lewis, Washington, in January 2002. He was the first US soldier to be killed by enemy fire during the war in Afghanistan.
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Mohboba, 7, stands near a bullet-ridden wall in Kabul as she waits to be seen at a health clinic in March 2002. She had a skin ailment that plagued many <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2016/05/31/middleeast/cnnphotos-afghanistan-between-hope-and-fear" target="_blank">poverty-stricken children in Afghanistan.</a>
Photos: America's longest war
Mohboba, 7, stands near a bullet-ridden wall in Kabul as she waits to be seen at a health clinic in March 2002. She had a skin ailment that plagued many poverty-stricken children in Afghanistan.
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US soldier Jorge Avino tallies the number of people that his mortar team had killed while fighting in Afghanistan in March 2002.
Photos: America's longest war
US soldier Jorge Avino tallies the number of people that his mortar team had killed while fighting in Afghanistan in March 2002.
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A man and his son watch US soldiers prepare to sweep their home in southeastern Afghanistan in November 2002.
Photos: America's longest war
A man and his son watch US soldiers prepare to sweep their home in southeastern Afghanistan in November 2002.
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Women wait in line to be treated at a health clinic in Kalakan, Afghanistan, in February 2003.
Photos: America's longest war
Women wait in line to be treated at a health clinic in Kalakan, Afghanistan, in February 2003.
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