After the Soviet withdrawal in 1989, civil war broke out. By the mid-1990s, a radical Muslim group called the Taliban controlled most of the nation. The Taliban imposed harsh rule and harbored Muslim extremists from other countries.
One of the extremists was Osama bin Laden, an exiled Saudi millionaire who led an international terrorist organization called al-Qaida. In 1998, bin Laden issued a statement to Muslims, proclaiming that "the killing of Americans and their civilian and military allies is a religious duty." Al-Qaida members were linked to a number of attacks against Americans, including bombings of U.S. embassies in east Africa and a navy ship at port in Yemen.
On September 11, 2001, al-Qaida hijackers crashed airplanes into the World Trade Center towers in New York City and into the Pentagon near Washington, D.C. Thousands of innocent civilians from many nations were killed in the attacks. Al-Qaida was also suspected of trying to develop chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons.
Despite international pressure, leaders of the Taliban continued to shelter bin Laden. In response, an international coalition led by the United States launched military attacks on Taliban and al-Qaida strongholds in Afghanistan.
The Taliban were quickly driven from power, and the coalition helped establish a new democratic government that involved representatives of many ethnic groups. However, al-Qaida and Taliban sympathizers still persist in parts of the nation.
