Afghanistan War – US Forces in Heavy Fighting Clashes and Intense Combat Firefights with Taliban
The war in Afghanistan is the period in which the United States invaded the country after the September 11 attacks, supported initially by close allies, and eventually by the wider North Atlantic Treaty Organization, beginning in 2003. The conflict is also known as the U.S. war in Afghanistan. It followed the Afghan Civil War’s 1996–2001 phase. Its public aims were to dismantle al-Qaeda, and to deny it a safe base of operations in Afghanistan by removing the Taliban from power. Key allies supported the U.S. from the start, including the United Kingdom. In August 2003, NATO became involved as an alliance, taking the helm of the International Security Assistance Force. On 28 December 2014, NATO formally ended combat operations in Afghanistan and transferred full security responsibility to the Afghan government, via a ceremony in Kabul.