20 years of war: Afghanistan at crossroads after US withdrawal

By Baber Khan Sahel

Kabul, July 5 (EFE).- The withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan has marked the end of an era and the beginning of a future shrouded in uncertainty as the responsibility of counter-insurgency operations falls on ill-equipped Afghan forces.

The United States invaded Afghanistan in 2001 to hunt the Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

But international forces continued to fight the Taliban for two decades before calling it quits amid a spike in violence across the country.

Here are the keys that mark the end of US presence in Afghanistan after nearly 20 years of war:

THE AMERICAN WITHDRAWAL

On May 1, US forces began their withdrawal from Afghanistan after 20 years of fighting in the longest war of American history.

The process will complete in late August, days before the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks that led to the invasion of Afghanistan.

The US agreed to leave Afghanistan in a historic peace pact between the Taliban and Washington signed on Feb. 29, 2019, in Doha.

Afghanistan had more than 100,000 foreign troops in 2012 to fight the Taliban and other insurgent groups.