AFGHANISTAN WAR: KEY DATES

October 2001: A U.s.-led coalition launches an invasion of Afghanistan on Oct. 7 after the Taliban refuse to hand over Osama bin Laden, who is blamed for the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The San Diego-based warship John Paul Jones fires the first missile strikes on Taliban and alqaeda forces. Small numbers of U.S. Special Forces and CIA agents soon slip into Afghanistan to help direct the bombing campaign and organize the Afghan opposition. Camp Pendleton’s 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit deploys to Pakistan in support of what is called Operation Enduring Freedom. Nov. 13, 2001: Taliban fighters abandon Kabul, the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. About 1,300 U.S. troops are on the ground.

Dec. 7, 2001: Kandahar, a Taliban stronghold, falls. Bin Laden and Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar escape.

Jan. 9, 2002: Military units based in San Diego County suffer their first casualties in the War on Terrorism as seven Marines from Miramar Marine Corps Air Station are killed when their KC-130 Hercules hits a mountainside in Pakistan.

Jan. 20, 2002: A CH-53E Super Stallion crashes in Afghanistan, killing two Marines from Miramar MCAS and injuring five others.

May 1, 2003: U.S. officials declare an end to major combat operations in Afghanistan as President George W. Bush turns the U.S. focus to preparing for the invasion of Iraq.

Oct. 9, 2004: Hamid Karzai, an ethnic Pashtun from one of the largest tribes in southern Afghanistan, wins the country’s first presidential election.

July 2006: The most serious fighting since 2001 erupts between NATO forces and Taliban fighters in southern Afghanistan.

Nov. 17, 2008: Taliban militants reject an offer of peace talks with Karzai, saying there will be no negotiations until foreign troops leave.

Dec. 1, 2009: Troop level is more than 67,000; Obama orders 33,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan amid deteriorating security, escalating violence and troop deaths. He also sets a deadline of July 2011 for U.S. forces to start withdrawing.

August 2010: The number of U.S. forces in Afghanistan peaks at about 100,000.

May 2, 2011: A U.S. Navy SEAL team kills Osama bin Laden in his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

June 22, 2011: Saying the U.S. is meeting its goals in Afghanistan, Obama announces his withdrawal plan, bringing down the levels of U.S. troops and handing over security responsibilities to the Afghans by 2014.

May 27, 2014: With about 32,800 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, Obama announces a drawdown to 9,800 by the end of the year and withdrawal of virtually all by the end of 2016.

2015-2018: The Taliban surge further, staging near-daily attacks targeting Afghan and U.S. forces; scores of civilians die in the crossfire. An Islamic State group affiliate emerges in the east; the Taliban seize control of nearly half the country.

September 2018: Seeking to fulfill his election promise to bring U.S. troops home, President Donald Trump appoints a veteran Afghan-american diplomat as negotiator with the Taliban.

Sept. 9, 2019: After a particularly intense escalation in Taliban attacks, Trump scraps talks with the Taliban.

Sept. 10, 2020: After months of starts and stops, the last of 5,000 Taliban fighters to be released by the Afghan government as part of a U.s.-taliban deal are handed over. The Taliban exchanged 1,000 members of government security forces.

Nov. 20, 2020: Acting defense secretary Christopher C. Miller says U.S. troop numbers will be reduced from about 5,000 to 2,500 by mid-january.

April 14, 2021: President Joe Biden announces complete withdrawal of U.S. troops by Sept. 11, 2021.