1947 to 1948
First Kashmir War
Fought within months of Partition over the princely state of Kashmir. The ceasefire line split Kashmir between Pakistan and India, and the dispute is still unresolved.
Battles · Modern wars
Modern Wars in the Muslim World
18 battles and sieges from 1947 to 2026. Each links to its own page with the sides, the commanders, the result and a map.
1948 to 1949
1948 War and the Nakba
About 700,000 Palestinians fled or were driven from their homes, the Nakba. Jerusalem was divided between Israel and Jordan.
1965
Indo-Pakistani War of 1965
Seventeen days of fighting, including one of the largest tank battles since the Second World War at Chawinda near Sialkot. Pakistan marks 6 September as Defence Day.
1967
Six-Day War
In six days Israel took East Jerusalem and the West Bank, Gaza, Sinai and the Golan Heights. Al-Aqsa came under Israeli occupation.
1971
Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
After months of civil war in East Pakistan, India invaded in December. About 90,000 Pakistani soldiers and officials were taken prisoner, and East Pakistan became Bangladesh.
1973
October War (Ramadan War)
Egypt crossed the Suez Canal on 10 Ramadan. King Faisal's oil embargo followed, and the war led to the Egypt Israel peace treaty of 1979.
1979 to 1989
Soviet War in Afghanistan
Ten years of war, with the mujahideen backed by the US, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. Millions of refugees came to Pakistan. The Soviet Union itself broke up in 1991.
1980 to 1988
Iran-Iraq War
Eight years of trench warfare, missiles and chemical weapons left hundreds of thousands dead, with no change to the border.
1990 to 1991
Gulf War
Iraq occupied Kuwait in August 1990. King Fahd let US troops into Saudi Arabia, and a coalition drove Iraq out in early 1991.
1999
Kargil War
Pakistani troops and fighters took heights across the Line of Control a year after both countries tested nuclear weapons. After weeks of fighting and US pressure, Pakistan withdrew in July 1999.
2001 to 2021
US War in Afghanistan
After 11 September 2001 the US overthrew the Taliban. Twenty years later the Taliban took Kabul again on 15 August 2021, and the last US troops left on 30 August.
2003 to 2011
Iraq War
Launched over weapons of mass destruction that were never found. Saddam was executed in 2006, and the insurgency that followed gave rise to ISIS.
2011 to 2024
Syrian Civil War
Protests in 2011 became a civil war that killed hundreds of thousands and drove more than ten million people from their homes.
2014 to 2017
ISIS and the Battle of Mosul
ISIS took Mosul in 2014 and declared a caliphate that the great majority of Muslim scholars rejected. Mosul was freed in 2017 and the group's last territory at Baghuz fell in 2019.
2015 to today
Yemen War
The Houthis took Sanaa in 2014 and a Saudi-led coalition intervened in 2015. From 2023 the Houthis attacked shipping in the Red Sea.
2023 to 2025
Gaza War
Hamas's attack of 7 October 2023 killed about 1,200 people in Israel. Israel's assault on Gaza killed more than 72,000 Palestinians according to Gaza's health ministry.
2025
India-Pakistan Conflict of 2025
After the Pahalgam attack of 22 April 2025, India struck targets in Pakistan on 7 May. Four days of missile, drone and air strikes followed, including Pakistan's Operation Bunyan-um-Marsoos, before a ceasefire on 10 May.
2025 to 2026
Iran War
After a 12-day war in June 2025, US and Israeli strikes began a wider war on 28 February 2026 in which Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was killed. Iran hit Israel, US bases and Gulf states and closed the Strait of Hormuz. A ceasefire mediated by Pakistan in April broke down in July.
Other kinds of war
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