THE FALL OF THE TALIBAN
On 20 September 2001, just days after the 9/11 attacks,
US President George W. Bush issued an ultimatum to the Taliban regime: hand over the leaders of al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, close every terrorist training camp in the country. The ultimatum was rejected. The US response was immediate:
The Afghan capital Kabul was liberated by Northern Alliance opposition forces on 13 November.
In mid-December US troops and their international partners attempted to capture Osama bin Laden at the Battle of Tora Bora in eastern Afghanistan near the Khyber Pass. But he escaped across the border to Pakistan.
Soon Kandahar, the spiritual home of the Taliban, fell to US and anti-Taliban Afghan forces. By January 2002, the Taliban had officially capitulated.
Keep reading at: The fight – Return to Hope.
"Danilo Amelotti" 