1979- Soviet Union invades Afghanistan.
1980- Soviet troops install a puppet regime in Kabul. The U.S., Pakistan, China, Iran, and Saudi Arabia offer support to mujahideen "freedom fighters" as they begin a guerrilla war against the Soviets.
1988–1989 Soviet troops withdraw.
1992 -Mujahideen forces, led by Ahmed Shah Massoud, remove the Soviet-backed government of Mohammad Najibullah. Rival militias vie for influence.
1993 -The factions agree on the formation of a government with Burhanuddin Rabbani as president, but infighting continues. Lawlessness is rampant.
September 1994- The Taliban are appointed by Pakistan to protect a trade convoy and quickly emerge as one of the strongest factions.
September 1996-The Taliban, under the leadership of Mullah Muhammad Omar, seize control of Kabul and implement a strict interpretation of Islamic law. They exile President Rabbani and execute Najibullah.
Sept.–Oct. 1997-The Taliban fail to capture and hold the city of Mazar-i-Sharif (held sacred by Shiites as the site of Ali's grave). Pakistani religious schools send reinforcements to the Taliban.
Aug. 20 1998- The U.S. launches missiles at suspected bin Laden bases in retaliation for the bombing of embassies in Africa.
2000- Record cold, drought, and civil war push an estimated 200,000 more
Afghans into refugee camps.
2001- January The UN adds an arms embargo against the Taliban.
March 12, 2001- Ignoring an international outcry, the Taliban blow up two 2,000-year-old Buddhist statues in the cliffs above Bamian.
May 2001- Religious minorities are ordered to wear tags identifying them as non-Muslims; Hindu women are required to veil themselves like other Afghan women.
July 2001- Taliban bans the use of the Internet, playing cards, computer discs, movies, satellite TV, musical instruments, and chessboards, after declaring them against Islamic law.
August 2001- Eight Christian foreign-aid workers are arrested for proselytizing. Two are American citizens.
Sept. 9 2001- Northern Alliance Commander Ahmed Shah Massoud is wounded in a suicide bombing, allegedly by al-Qaeda operatives. Massoud dies from his wounds several days later.
Sept. 11 2001- Terrorist attack on World Trade Center and Pentagon.
Oct. 7 2001- The U.S. begings bombing strategic Taliban sites in Afghanistan.
Oct. 19 2001- U.S. begins ground assaults against the Taliban. More than 100 commandos parachute into an airfield near Kandahar while a small number of special operations forces raid a compound used by the Taliban to gather intelligence. Two Americans die when a support helicopter crashes.
Nov. 27 2001- Afghan leaders meet with UN representatives in Bonn, Germany, to work out guidelines for a post-Taliban government. Afghan leaders represent 4 factions: the Northern Alliance; the "Rome Group," representing former Afghan King Mohammad Zahir Shah; the "Peshawar Group," representing Afghan refugees in Pakistan; and the "Cyprus Group," representing an Iranian-backed group of Afghan exiles.
Dec. 9 2001- The Taliban surrender Kandahar and withdraw from the city. While the Taliban have been completely removed from power, former Taliban soldiers show up in nearby villages and continue to push the Taliban's policies.
Dec. 22 2001- Hamid Karzai is sworn in as chairman of an interim government replacing the Taliban. The U.S. announces that it will recognize the government, the first time an Afghan government has received official US recognition since 1979.
January 2002- The Taliban officially capitulates. Seven top Taliban officials who surrendered at Kandahar are released by the interim government and are suspected of leaving the country. Pakistani intelligence officials detain Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef, the Taliban's former ambassador to Pakistan. Zaeef is put into U.S. custody.
January 2004- Afghanistan's Loya Jirga adopts a new constitution. The
constitution grants equality for men and women and defines the country
as an "Islamic Republic."
