Taliban takeover

The Taliban were removed from power in Afghanistan by U.s.-led forces in 2001, but the group has seized control of the country this month following a rapid offensive.

The Taliban’s rise to power

The Taliban, or “students” in the Pashto language, emerged in the early 1990s in northern Pakistan following the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan. It is believed that the predominantly Pashtun movement first appeared in religious seminaries — mostly paid for by money from Saudi Arabia — which preached a hardline form of Sunni Islam.

The promise made by the Taliban — in Pashtun areas

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS straddling Pakistan and Afghanistan — was to restore peace and security and enforce their strict version of Sharia, or Islamic law, once in power.

In recent months, they have made promises to not seek revenge on supporters of the Afghan government.

Taliban fighters in Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s presidential palace after he fled the nation earlier this month.