In pics | America's longest war in Afghanistan comes to a close after 20 years
The US on Monday finally ended its 20 year-war in Afghanistan after its military C-17 aircraft carried the last American troops out of Afghanistan on Monday, marking the formal end of the longest war in the country's history
20 years in Afghanistan
Soldiers from the U.S. Army First Battalion, 26th Infantry fire mortars from the Korengal Outpost at Taliban positions in the Korengal Valley of Afghanistan's Kunar Province on May 12, 2009. For the troops on the front lines, sometimes this meant holding a remote outpost as mortars, rockets or gunfire hit almost daily. It also included patrols through orchards hunting for hidden Taliban, down roads laced with explosive devices. These soldiers took missions into villages, trying to build support among residents. Raids targeting militant commanders often turned into gun battles.
(Photograph:AP)
20 years in Afghanistan
Soldiers from the U.S. Army First Battalion, 26th Infantry take on defensive positions at firebase Restrepo after receiving fire from Taliban positions in the Korengal Valley of Afghanistan's Kunar Province on May 11, 2009. Spc. Zachary Boyd of Fort Worth, TX, far left was wearing 'I love NY' boxer shorts after rushing from his sleeping quarters to join his fellow platoon members. From far right is Spc. Cecil Montgomery of Many, LA and Jordan Custer of Spokan, WA, centre.
(Photograph:AP)
20 years in Afghanistan
U.S. Marines from the 2nd MEB, 1st Battalion 5th Marines sleep in their fighting holes inside a compound where they stayed for the night, in the Nawa district of Afghanistan's Helmand province, on July 8, 2009. With the surge that began in 2009, troops wrested back territory from the Taliban in the group’s southern strongholds in Helmand and Kandahar provinces, only for the insurgents to recapture it years later when the surge receded.
(Photograph:AP)
20 years in Afghanistan
U.S. Marine Cpl. Russell pays his respects to Lance Cpl. Joshua Bernard during a memorial service at a forward operating base with Golf Company, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Regiment, 2nd MEB, 3rd MEF, Thursday, August 27, 2009, in Now Zad in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan. Bernard was killed during a Taliban ambush on August 14. In strategic valleys, like Korengal which were situated in high mountains by the Pakistani border or Aurangdal in the south protecting the approaches to Kandahar, cycles of troops over the years dug in, fought and tried to expand their control
(Photograph:AP)
20 years in Afghanistan
During a rescue mission by a team from a US Air Force Expeditionary Rescue Squadron, army medics carry a wounded Afghan Army soldier to an evacuation helicopter, in Kandahar province, southern Afghanistan, on August 2, 2010. US Air Force Pararescumen and helicopter aircrews’ work together to evacuate wounded combatants and civilians from battlefields in southern Afghanistan. Over the course of nearly 20 years, more than 2,400 American service members were killed and more than 20,000 were wounded.
(Photograph:AP)
20 years in Afghanistan
The Americans' combat role was declared nearly seven years ago, but troops remaining training Afghan forces and in hunting down terrorist groups. On July 2, the last troops left Bagram Airfield, north of Kabul, their main base throughout the conflict, handing it over to the Afghan military, a signal that the full withdrawal from the country was nearly completed.
(Photograph:AP)
20 years in Afghanistan
A US Marine walks to pick up food supplies after they were dropped off by small parachutes from a plane outside Forward Operating Base Edi in the Helmand Province of southern Afghanistan on June 9, 2011. The smoke in the background comes from burning parachutes the Marines destroy after they reached the ground
(Photograph:AP)
20 years in Afghanistan
A CH-47 Chinook is loaded onto a US Air Force C-17 Globemaster III at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, August 28, 2021. The Chinook is one of the pieces of equipment returning to the U.S. as the military mission in Afghanistan comes to an end.
(Photograph:Reuters)
20 years in Afghanistan
In this satellite photo taken by Planet Labs Inc., Kabul''s international airport is seen after the US withdrawal from Afghanistan on Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2021. The Taliban triumphantly marched into Kabul''s international airport on Tuesday, hours after the final US troop
(Photograph:PTI)