Taliban

The Taliban is an Islamist insurgent movement based in Afghanistan, which since August 2021 has assumed control of the country. Although the Taliban rarely directs attacks towards the West, it has frequently provided a safe haven for other extremist groups seeking to do so. It has a long history of misogyny, antisemitism, homophobia and violence towards religious minorities. The Taliban arose from mujahideen factions during the Soviet-Afghan War in the 1980s and took control of most of Afghanistan during the ensuing civil war, becoming the de facto rulers of the state and implementing an extreme and oppressive version of sharia law in the provinces it controlled. The Taliban also offered safe haven to Al Qaeda. After the 9/11 terror attacks by Al Qaeda against the United States, the U.S. launched an invasion of Afghanistan with the goal of eliminating Al Qaeda and toppling Taliban rule. It succeeded in the latter, but the Taliban reverted to insurgency, fighting the Afghan government and the U.S. for 20 years before U.S. withdrawal allowed the Taliban to regain control of Afghanistan.