SUMMARY
Since the 1970s, Afghanistan has been characterized by severe civil war as Muslim groups have battled the regime and each other in their attempts to control the country. The strict Islamist rule imposed by the Taleban movement in 1996 came to an end when a US-led multinational force intervened in 2001. However, the extremists continued their struggle and heavy fighting between the internationally backed regime and the Taleban movement continued. The intrastate armed conflict over the government between the government of Afghanistan and the Taleban was the bloodiest conflict in the world in 2018 and 2019. In 2021, fighting escalated and as the foreign forces withdrew from the country, the Taleban took control of more territory. On 15 August 2021, Kabul fell to the Taleban and the government was ousted. Although anti-Taleban forces, such as National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (NRF) and Afghanistan Freedom Front (AFF), continued the fight, violence has decreased significantly. In 2022, for the first time since 2004, the conflict did not reach the intensity level of war, and in 2025, the conflict over government just passed the UCDP threshold of 25 battle-related deaths.
In addition to conflict over government, the government of Afghanistan is also engaged in an intrastate conflict with Islamic State (IS) which claims the Khorasan province as a part of the Islamic State. Violence has plummeted since 2018, but IS has increasingly turned to ‘soft targets’ and continue to carry out one-sided violence against civilians, primarily in the capital Kabul. Following the Taleban takeover in August 2021, IS stepped up its attacks on civilians, primarily Shia Muslims and Hazaras.
Since 1989, Afghanistan has experienced the interstate, intrastate, non-state, and one-sided categories of organized violence, as defined by UCDP. Most of the violence can been attributed to intrastate conflict.
2025
Although anti-Taleban forces, such as National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (NRF) and Afghanistan Freedom Front (AFF) continued the fight, violence has decreased significantly since 2021. Fighting mainly took the form of ambushes and mines, as well as executions carried out by the Taleban government. In 2025, NRF was the only actor active in the conflict over government in Afghanistan. Clashes against IS in the conflict over the territory Islamic State continued, albeit on a lower level.
In terms of one-sided violence, human rights organizations have documented widespread violations, despite a general amnesty for former government officials and members of the security forces being declared by the Taleban government. The Taleban regime continued to target civilians connected to the previous government, as well as civilians accused of supporting the resistance. In connection to offensives against the anti-Taleban resistance, the Taleban regime repeatedly executed civilians. Following the Taleban takeover in August 2021, IS also stepped up its attacks on civilians, primarily Shia Muslims and Hazaras. In 2025, the Salafi group de-escalated its attacks against civilian targets, such as educational centres and mosques.
In 2024, the long-standing interstate conflict between Afghanistan and Pakistan over the Durand Line escalated into active conflict for the first time. The fighting escalated further in 2025. The two countries have disputed the border demarcation since 1949, with occasional skirmishes occurring over the years. Tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan surged following the Taliban's takeover, leading to a significant intensification of hostilities. In October 2025, the parties met for several rounds of talks, in Qatar, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia. Although the negotiations did not result in any peace agreements, a short-lived ceasefire was agreed upon in late October.
The second Taleban regime
The intrastate armed conflict over the government between the government of Afghanistan and the Taleban escalated since 2013, and was been the bloodiest conflict in the world in 2018 and 2019.
Following eighteen months of negotiations, the Taleban signed an agreement with USA on 29 February 2020. The agreement provided for a complete withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan and the start of intra-Afghan talks. The peace process, and the drastic drop in airstrikes carried out by the USA in support of Afghan forces, resulted in a lull in fighting in 2020. In 2021, however, fighting escalated again, and as the foreign forces withdrew, the Taleban took control of more territory. On 15 August 2021, Kabul fell to the Taleban and the government was ousted.
Following the Taleban takeover, Panjshir valley north of Kabul was the last pocket of resistance against the Taleban regime. Former vice president Amrullah Saleh, together with Ahmad Massoud (son of the legendary Mujahideen Ahmad Shah Massoud) formed the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (NRF) to fight the Taleban regime. On 6 September 2021, the Taleban declared victory in Panjshir, but NRF claimed to continue the armed opposition from the mountains.
A long history of conflict
Afghanistan has a long history of conflict. The territory of present-day Afghanistan has historically been dominated by tribal rivalries fueled by the competition for influence in the region by Russia and Great Britain. After forty years as a largely autonomous British protectorate, Afghanistan became independent in 1919.
Despite the great diversity of ethnic, language, religious, and tribal identities in the region, the political life in Afghanistan has largely been dominated by members of the Pashtun (in particular the Durrani branch) ethnic group. Following an almost bloodless military takeover in 1973, the monarchy was abolished and the country was declared a republic. The already existing support from the Soviet Union to Afghanistan became even more significant following the coup and members of a nascent Islamic opposition movement were forced into exile after a government crackdown in 1975.
The intrastate armed conflict over the government started with another military coup in 1978 and a Soviet invasion in the following year. The newly installed socialist government of Afghanistan received supporting troops from the Soviet Union against the growing armed opposition, which to a large extent was organized by the exiled leaders of groups formed around claims of reversing the secular state. These groups, referred to as the Mujahideen, established camps in neighboring countries and incorporated volunteers from around the world in the fight against the Soviet-backed government. The Soviet Union withdrew its troops in 1988. The same year al-Qaida, which has used Afghanistan as its main base of operations, was formed.
The withdrawal of the Soviet Union did not end the conflict, as different groups competed for government power in the country and formed shifting alliances. Discontent with the rule of local warlords led to the sudden growth of a new actor in the mid-1990s, the Taleban, which controlled the government in 1996-2001. The Taleban established a strict Islamic state based on the Pashtun approach to sharia law until. The Taleban was ousted in late 2001 by an opposition alliance under the United Islamic Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan (UIFSA) and an US-led multinational coalition. The government of the United States and the government of the United Kingdom shortly fought against the Taleban government in an inter-state conflict. The US-led coalition also attacked al-Qaida bases located in Afghanistan as a part of the intrastate conflict between the US government and al-Qaida that begun on 11 September.
In 2002, a democratic system was installed by the new administration. However, the Taleban withdrew southwards and regrouped in Pakistan's tribal areas and along the Pakistan-Afghan border, and the conflict resumed with the Taleban as the prime insurgent group, while the government side was supported by the multinational coalition. Several conflict parties have used one-sided violence, including the government, particularly against members of other ethnic or tribal groups. Between 2002 and the Taleban takeover in 2021, Afghanistan was a secondary warring party to the USA in the government conflict against al-Qaida in which much of the fighting took place on Afghan territory. The governments of Pakistan and Afghanistan also agreed to combat terrorists on both sides of their common border, assisting each other in fighting the groups.
The emergence of Islamic State - Khorasan Province
During 2014, reports emerged of the presence of the Islamic State (IS) in Afghanistan and Pakistan. IS became active in Afghanistan in January 2015, claiming the Khorasan province as a part of the Islamic State. IS recruited most of its members from the Taleban movement and other groups operating in the border area between Afghanistan and Pakistan. IS and the Taleban are, however, ideologically different. While IS is a pan-Islamist group striving to establish a unified Caliphate globally, Taleban has remained focused on Afghanistan. Clashes between the two groups have occurred, concentrating especially on the Nangarhar province, where IS has controlled several districts.
Violence has plummeted since 2018, but IS has increasingly turned to ‘soft targets’ and continue to carry out one-sided violence against civilians, primarily in the capital Kabul. Following the Taleban takeover in August 2021, IS stepped up its attacks on civilians, primarily Shia Muslims and Hazaras. IS also continued to fight the Taleban, which is now representing the government of Afghanistan.
