Afghanistan
Americannoun
noun
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In 1992, various rebel groups entered Kabul and took over the government; however, they soon fell to warring. Between 1994 and 1995, Islamic students, called the Taliban, seized Kabul and imposed both order and strict and repressive Islamic law. By 1998, the Taliban controlled ninety percent of the country. The most serious resistance to the Taliban came from the Northern Alliance, a body dominated by ethnic Tajiks and Uzbeks. In October 2001, the United States launched attacks on the Taliban in response to the Taliban's refusal to expel Osama bin Laden and his terrorist Al Qaeda network.
The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979 but met stiff resistance from Muslim rebels, called mujahideen, who received support from the United States. The Soviets agreed to withdraw in 1986 and completed their withdrawal in 1989.
Afghanistan is a poor nation with a history of warfare among its rival ethnic groups and of fierce resistance to outsiders.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The domestic toll of this campaign suddenly became more painful and acute, particularly as many Americans are still raw at following the loss of lives in Iraq and Afghanistan in recent decades.
The top five nationalities with the largest number of people claiming asylum were Pakistan, Eritrea, Iran, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.
From Barron's
Fitrat, Afghanistan's deputy spokesman, said more than 80 Pakistani soldiers were killed and 27 military posts captured.
From Barron's
Afghanistan said on Sunday that the war in neighbouring Iran would negatively impact the whole region and expressed "deep regret" over the violence flaring in multiple countries.
From Barron's
Several rounds of negotiations between Pakistan and Afghanistan last year followed a ceasefire brokered by Qatar and Turkey.
From Barron's
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
