List of military operations in the war in Afghanistan (2001–2021)

The United States launched an invasion of Afghanistan following the September 11 attacks from October 7, 2001, to August 31, 2021, as a part of the war on terror. Participants in the initial American operation, Operation Enduring Freedom, included a NATO coalition whose initial goals were to train the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) and assist Afghanistan in rebuilding key government institutions after the fall of the Taliban regime in December 2001. However, coalition forces were gradually involved in the broader war as well, as Taliban resistance continued until 2021, when they regained control of the country and formed a new government. This is a list of known code names and related information for military operations associated with the war, including operations to airlift citizens of coalition countries and at-risk Afghan civilians from Afghanistan as the war drew to a close.

Background

From May 1996, Osama bin Laden had been living in Afghanistan along with other members of al-Qaeda, operating terrorist training camps in a loose alliance with the Taliban. Following the 1998 US embassy bombings in Africa, the US military launched cruise missiles at these camps with limited effect on their overall operations. A follow-on plan, Operation Infinite Resolve, was planned but not implemented. The UN Security Council issued Resolutions 1267 and 1333 in 1999 and 2000, respectively, applying financial and military hardware sanctions to encourage the Taliban to turn over bin Laden to appropriate authorities for trial in the embassy bombings, as well as to close terrorist training camps.

After the September 11, 2001, attacks, investigators rapidly accumulated evidence implicating bin Laden. In a taped statement released in 2004, bin Laden publicly acknowledged his and al-Qaeda's direct involvement in the attacks.