List of sieges of Kabul

The following is a list of sieges of Kabul, the capital city of Afghanistan.

Kabul in Khorasan, map of the caliphates

Modern era

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2001 siege

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In November 2001, Northern Alliance allianced with the United States forces. Initially the alliance held back from the city, with security guards being seen holding back armour and truckloads of infantry,[1] but this pause was short-lived, and the alliance proved unable or unwilling to prevent their forces from entering the city.[2] With the fall of the city, there were some incidents of vengeance against the Taliban; the BBC's John Simpson reported hearing chants of "kill the Taliban" from the inhabitants of Kabul as he entered the city, with many Taliban fighters, particularly foreign fighters from the Arab Peninsula and Pakistan being lynched and left in ditches, while others were beaten after their capture.[3] The liberation from the Taliban also resulted in the practice of behaviours formerly prohibited; the "great Afghan passion" of kite flying, which the Taliban had tried to stamp out, was taken up again, music was played, and young men lined up at street barbers to cut off the beard the Taliban had forced them to wear – though most would choose to keep it.[4][5]

2021 siege

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In 2021, Taliban forces conquered Kabul after destroying U.S. Forces. The siege, referred to as the Fall of Kabul, occurred in August 2021.

16th century - present

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Date Attackers Defenders Forces used Result Ref.
1504   Timurid Empire   Arghun Kingdom land Successful [6]
1879   British Empire   Emirate of Afghanistan Land Unsuccessful [7][8][9]
1979   Soviet Union   Democratic Republic of Afghanistan Air and land Unsuccessful [10][11][12]
1992–1996   Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin (1992-1994),
  Hezb-i Wahdat (1992-1995)
  Junbish-i Milli (1994),
  Taliban (1994-1996)
  Islamic State of Afghanistan Air and land Successful [13][14]
2001   Northern Alliance   Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan Air and land Successful [15][16]
2021   Taliban   Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Air and land Successful [17][18]

References

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  1. ^ "The Fall of Kabul". PBS NewsHour. 13 November 2001. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  2. ^ "The fall of Kabul". The Economist. 13 November 2001. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  3. ^ Simpson, John (13 November 2001). "Eyewitness: The liberation of Kabul". BBC News. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  4. ^ "The Fall of Kabul". PBS NewsHour. 13 November 2001. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  5. ^ "The fall of Kabul". The Economist. 13 November 2001. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  6. ^ "Babur | Biography & Achievements | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2021-12-28.
  7. ^ Forbes, Archibald (1912). The Afghan Wars 1839–42 and 1878–80: Chapter IV: The December storm. Gutenberg Project E-book.
  8. ^ "No. 25008". The London Gazette. 26 August 1881. p. 4393.
  9. ^ A Short History of the 9th Queen's Royal Lancers 1715–1949
  10. ^ Lyakhovskiy, Aleksandr (January 2007). "Inside the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan and Seizure of Kabul, December 1979" (PDF). Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  11. ^ Peter Tomsen (9 June 2011). Wars of Afghanistan (1st ed.). PublicAffairs. p. 174. ISBN 978-1586487638.
  12. ^ Dmitri Volin (25 December 2019) Участник штурма дворца Амина: мы шли под прямой автоматный огонь. tass.ru.
  13. ^ U.S. Department of State (March 1996). "Afghanistan Human Rights Practices, 1995". Archived from the original on 2010-07-11. Retrieved 2021-08-17.
  14. ^ Ghufran, Nasreen. "THE TALIBAN AND THE CIVIL WAR ENTANGLEMENT IN AFGHANISTAN" (PDF).
  15. ^ Neville, Leigh, Special Forces in the War on Terror (General Military), Osprey Publishing, 2015 ISBN 978-1472807908, p.43
  16. ^ The United States Army in Afghanistan – Operation ENDURING FREEDOM – October 2001 – March 2003 Archived February 16, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  17. ^ "In pictures: The fall of Kabul". dawn.com. 2021-08-16. Retrieved 2021-08-17.
  18. ^ Turse, Nick (August 15, 2021). "The Fall of Kabul". The Intercept. Retrieved 2021-08-17.