With President Ashraf Ghani fleeing the country and the Taliban taking control of Kabul along with presidential palace, the Afghan government collapsed on August 15. Taliban made come
back to the war-torn nation after 20 years of exile. Now, the future of millions of Afghans mainly women and minorities remains uncertain.
In an attempt to escape the dreaded Taliban rule thousands of people rushed to Kabul airport. Meanwhile, Islamic State's latest suicide bombings outside Kabul airport have worsened
the problems for Afghans and the international community.
Over 110 people, including 13 US troops were killed in the attacks. According to an Afghan official, over 158 people were injured as a result of the explosions.
Many countries were obliged to halt their evacuation operations due to the mounting threat posed by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in Afghanistan. With the US's military
withdrawal deadline nearing, Afghanistan's political situation might worsen as many groups fight for power.
Here are the organisations intending to take control of Afghanistan:
- Taliban
From 1996 to 2001, the extremist group ruled Afghanistan until US soldiers stormed the country in the name of "counter-terrorism."
Over the last two decades, the Taliban militants kept fighting US forces and in 2020 finally signed an agreement that resulted in the withdrawal of foreign soldiers from Afghanistan.
Now, the Taliban has seized control of all the major cities in the war-torn county. Panjshir, one of the last major anti-Taliban resistance outposts that continue to fight the terror group with remnants of the Afghan army and local militia.
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Despite the Taliban's regime from 1996 to 2001, the Panjshir valley remained free and continued fighting against the dreaded group's rule.
Ahmad Massoud, the leader of an alliance of Uzbek and Tajik fighters have pledged to keep fighting the Taliban 2.0. The alliance's battle against the Taliban has been backed by Amrullah
Saleh, the first acting president of the ousted Afghan government.
While the Taliban promised in a peace agreement with the US to prevent al Qaeda and other terrorist organisations from functioning on Afghan land, a UN report suggests that relations
between the insurgents and al Qaeda, particularly the Haqqani network branch, remain strong. Friendship, marriages, shared struggle, and ideological sympathy were cited as reasons for the ties, according to the research.
Like the Taliban, ISIS-K is made up of extreme Sunni Islamist militants, but the two groups are fierce rivals. ISIS-Khorasan has been involved in some of the deadliest terror attacks
in recent years, having pledged allegiance to slain Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in 2015.
ISIS-K leaders have denounced the US-Taliban agreement that has resulted in the withdrawal of Western troops. According to a UN report, ISIS-K's strength might range from 500 to
10,000 people.