Afghanistan, al-Qaeda, Taliban, Muslim, Islam

October 7, 2001 - Taliban & al-Qaeda terrorists
The US invasion of Afghanistan started on October 7, 2001. sought to remove the Taliban from power as they were hosting al-Qaeda terrorists who were the main suspects of the September 11 attacks.

US war in Afghanistan 7 October 2001-2018
US and allies successfully drove the Taliban from power in order to deny al-Qaeda a safe base of operations in Afghanistan.

The war has since mostly involved US and allied Afghan government troops battling Taliban insurgents.
Taliban Insurgency Allied groups & approximate population
Taliban: 60,000 
High Council of Afghanistan Islamic Emirate: 10,000
Haqqani network: 10,000
  Fidai Mahaz: 8,000
Hezb-e-Islami: 1,500
al-Qaeda: 500
  Lashkar-e-Taiba: 500

Hizb-i Islami: al-Qaeda-militant Islamist org 
Osama bin Laden
Taliban.

Al Qaeda - an Islamist terrorist movement with the US as the primary target. 
al-Qaeda members believe that a Christian–Jewish alliance is conspiring to destroy Islam.
members of al-Qaeda believe that the killing of non-combatants is religiously sanctioned. This belief ignores the aspects of religious scripture which forbid the murder of non-combatants and internecine fighting.
opposes man-made laws, and wants a strict form of sharia law (Quran)
responsible for instigating "sectarian violence"* among Muslims.
regard liberal Muslims, Shias, Sufis and other sects as heretical
*secterian: conflict between different subgroups of Muslims, primarily Shias & Sunnis
Sunni Islam:the largest denomination of Islam 90% of the world's Muslims
Shia Islam: the second largest branch of Islam: 10% of all Muslims

Examples of sectarian attacks include 
Yazidi community bombings: in Iraq. 796 people killed; 1,500 people wounded, 
Sadr City bombings: in Iraq. 215 killed; 100 injured,
Ashoura massacre: in Iraq.  178 Shi'a Muslims killed; 500 injured,
April 2007 Baghdad bombings: in Iraq. a series of attacks;
  5 car bombs exploded across Baghdad on 18 April 2007
A bomb detonated on a minibus killing 4 people and wounding 6
  A parked car exploded afterward, killing 11 and wounding 13.
A suicide car bomber crashed his car into an Iraqi police checkpoint; 
   killed 41 people, and wounded 76.
One hour later, a car bomb killed 140 people and wounded 148
Later in the day a suicide bomber killed 2 and wounded 8.

Al Qaeda 
Ideology
Wahhabism
Salafist jihadism
Qutbism
Pan-Islamism
Anti-Communism
Anti-Zionism
Antisemitism
Islamist Sects (subgroups)
Al-Qaeda Central 
Al-Qaeda in Iraq, 
became "Mujahideen Shura Council"
became "Islamic State of Iraq (ISI)" in 2006)
became Islamic State of Iraq 
Islamic State of Iraq (ISIL, ISIS, IS, 2006-present)
ISIL, ISIS, & IS are all references to the Islamic State of Iraq
Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb: 
an Islamist militant org; 
aims to overthrow the Algerian government
Tawhid al-Jihad : a Sunni Islamist Palestinian group in the Gaza Strip and the Sinai peninsula, and is the branch of al-Qaeda in Gaza. 
2011: several new militant groups emerged in the Gaza Strip and claimed responsibility for Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel. 

Tawhid al-Jihadannounced that it had kidnapped Vittorio Arrigoni, an Italian peace activist, & blogger, in the Gaza Strip. 
It threatened to execute him unless Hamas released its leader.
Arrigoni was 
a pacifist supporter of the Palestinian cause, 
a member of the Palestinian-led International Solidarity Movement, 
and held a blog reporting from the Gaza Strip. 
Arrigoni was found dead before the deadline. 

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP): 
militant Islam org, active in Yemen and Saudi Arabia. 

White House considering using MQ-1 Predator drones to fight Al-Qaeda in Yemen
RQ-1 Predator Drone: (medium-altitude, long-endurance 
UAS-unmanned aircraft system). 
with sensors, a ground control station (GCS), 
and satellite link communication. 
Powered by a Rotax engine 
driven by a propeller
the vehicle can fly up to 460 mi; up to 28 hours.













Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (2009–present)
Ansar al-Sharia
Al-Shabaab (2010–present)
Al-Nusra Front (2012–2017, became Tahrir al-Sham in January 2017)
Tahrir al-Sham (alleged, 2017–present)
Al-Mourabitoun (2013–2015, joined AQIM in December 2015)
Jund al-Aqsa (2014–2017)
Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (2014–present)
Khorasan Group
Al-Qaeda in Sinai Peninsula
Imam Shamil Battalion
Guardians of Religion Organization (2018–present)
Al-Qaeda Kurdish Battalions
Ansaru
Al-Qaeda in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin
Abu Hafs al-Masri Brigades
Tanzim Qaedat al-Jihad



An insurgency began in Iraq after the 2003 US-led invasion, and lasted throughout the ensuing Iraq War (2003–2011).
the American withdrawal from Iraq in 2011
2011: the Iraq Crisis, escalated, violent conflict with the central government, sectarian violence among Iraq's religious groups.





The Taliban or "the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA)", 
  a Sunni Islamic fundamentalist political movement 
  a Sunni military organization currently waging war in Afghanistan

The Taliban's government was acknowledged by 
Pakistan
Saudi Arabia
United Arab Emirates. 

The 'Taliban Insurgency' began shortly after the group's fall from power following the 2001 War in Afghanistan. The Taliban forces are fighting against the Afghan government.



Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin 
al-Qaeda
Lashkar-e-Taiba
Islamic Jihad Union
Turkistan Islamic Party
Taliban splinter groups
Dadullah Front
Fidai Mahaz
High Council of Afghanistan Islamic Emirate


2010 Kabul attack
Target: the attack was directed against Indian presence in Afghanistan
Deaths:   18
Injuries: 36
Perpetrators: (Lashkar-e-Taiba: Pakistan-based militants)

Lashkar-e-Taiba: one of the largest and most active Islamist militant organisations in South Asia
Its stated objective is to introduce an Islamic state in South Asia 
and to "liberate" Muslims residing in Kashmir, India.
Area of operations:
Pakistan, 
Afghanistan, 
Pakistan 
occupied Kashmir, 
Bangladesh
Ideology: Ahl al-Hadith (Islam)
Political position: Far-right
MotiveS: Integration of Jammu and Kashmir with Pakistan 
ending Indian rule in the state
propagation of pan-Islamism in South Asia
banned as a terrorist organization by 
India
United States 
United Kingdom 
European Union 
Russia
Australia































Civilian casualties 
  1. landmines
  2. unexploded weapons left behind, such as 
2.a.artillery shells, 
2.b. mortars, 
2.c grenades, 
2.d bombs 
2.e rockets, 
  3. abandoned improvised mines & IED's

The Afghanistan government reported:
   14,693 civilians Injured 
    5,442 civilians Killed 
  from the 3 categories (above) of explosive devices.


ERW - Explosive Remnants of War
IED - Improvised (handmade) Explosive Devices

ERW - (Explosive Remnants of War)
 remain after battles
ERW's (explosive remnants of war) include UXO's and AXO's (see description below): 
-UXO's (unexploded ordnances) - conventional weapons that for some reason fail to explode as intended but often explode if touched or moved at a later time. 
-UXO examples:
grenades,
projectiles 
mortars
large air-delivered bombs.
   particularly lethal UXO's:
anti-personnel landmines
  anti-tank landmines
cluster munitions
IED's
-AXO's (abandoned explosive mines) explode when handled improperly