Photography: Afghanistan

The war in Afghanistan began weeks after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks when the U.S. and its allies moved against al Qaeda and the Taliban regime that then ruled Afghanistan, provding Osama bin Laden’s network a safe haven. The early effort was led by American and British special operations forces and intelligence agents, who aided the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance and quickly succeeded in toppling the Taliban 

The remnants of the Taliban and al Qaeda took refuge in the mountains that straddle the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. They used bases on the Pakistani side of the border to recover their strength and rebuild their forces, and are now waging a potent and bloody insurgency.