Modern wars · 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.
Key facts
- When
- 2001 to 2021
- Where
- Afghanistan
- Sides
- US and NATO vs Taliban
- Result
- Taliban returned, 2021
- Type
- Modern wars
- Chapter
- 7. The Modern Muslim World
The wider picture: Nation states and modern wars
Most Muslim lands won independence between the 1920s and the 1960s. Since then the region has seen more war than almost anywhere else: Israel's wars with its neighbours, two Afghan wars, the Iran Iraq war, American wars in Iraq, civil wars in Syria and Yemen, and in 2026 a war on Iran.
More modern wars battles
- Soviet War in Afghanistan1979 to 1989
- Iran-Iraq War1980 to 1988
- Gulf War1990 to 1991
- Kargil War1999
- Iraq War2003 to 2011
- Syrian Civil War2011 to 2024
- ISIS and the Battle of Mosul2014 to 2017
- Yemen War2015 to today
All 18 modern wars in the muslim world battles · Battle explorer
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