29 January – Afghan special forces raided a Taliban compound in Bala Murghab, Badghis Province, freeing 62 hostages.[2] A Taliban attack in Kunduz killed multiple Afghan security forces.[2]
15 February – U.S. negotiators and the Taliban agreed on a seven-day "reduction in violence" period, with the ultimate aim of reducing U.S. forces from 12,000 to 8,600 over coming months. U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said the period was "conditions-based" but would involve suspending a "significant part" of U.S. operations, though no start date had been selected till then. Consultations were scheduled for 21 February between Esper, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and Afghan president Ashraf Ghani. The announcement followed an earlier Taliban ultimatum to reply to their proposal for such a reduction, though the Taliban still refused to meet with Afghan government officials in any capacity but as private citizens.[10]
19 February – President Ashraf Ghani and U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad met to discuss U.S. peace negotiations with the Taliban.[13]
29 February – The United States and the Taliban sign an agreement that may lead to the end of the war in Afghanistan.[14]
30 March – A sticky bomb attached to a vehicle detonated Kabul, wounding four people. The Taliban are to send ten representatives to the U.S. Bagram Airfield, to oversee the release of 5,000 prisoners.[17]Reuters reports 27 security forces and 13 Taliban killed in fighting.[18]
23 May – The Taliban and Afghan government announce a three-day ceasefire beginning on Eid al-Fitr. It is only the third time that a truce has been agreed upon since the conflict began.[23] UN Secretary-General António Guterres welcomed the announcement and urged all parties to embrace the Afghan peace process.[24]
12 June – Four people were killed and another eight injured in a bombing at a Kabul mosque.[26]
17 June – Twelve security forces members were killed and five were wounded during a Taliban attack in Aqcha District, Jowzjan Province. Four soldiers were taken hostage in the attack, and five Taliban militants killed.[27] Two security checkpoints in the Aqcha district were hit from different angles by the attackers, in an attempt to take over their control, a spokesman in the Jawzjan province confirmed.[28] However, the actual extent of casualties are yet to be ascertained, as the group behind the attack has not issued a statement yet.[29]
13 July – 11 people were killed and several others injured, as a result of a car bomb blast at a government facility in northern Afghanistan's Samangan Province.[31] According to the hospital chief of the province, most of the casualties of the attack were civilians, including children. The deputy governor of the province stated that the insurgents breached the intelligence complex agency after the blast, subsequently engaging in a struggle with the Afghan forces for hours. Officials added that the Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.[32][33][34]
23 July – Local officials disclosed that an Air strike was launched by the Afghan forces against Taliban fighters in the western Afghan province of Herat, killing at least 45 people, including civilians.[35] Witnesses claimed that the attack was carried out when several people came out in Herat's Adraskan district to welcome a Taliban fighter that was recently released from jail. Further claims suggest that at least 8 civilians lost their lives in the attack, with several others injured including children.[36][37] The Afghan defense ministry has assured that it would look into this lethal attack which resulted in civilian casualties.[38]
28 July – The Taliban has declared a temporary ceasefire for three days in Afghanistan, ahead of Muslim's holiday for Eid.[39] According to the Washington Times, the Afghan government has accepted the deal, as they have urged their forces to uphold the truce.[40] President Ashraf Ghani has indicated that negotiations could begin next week, which would mark the commencement of the procrastinated peace talks.[40] However, spokesman of the Taliban Zabihullah Mujahid, has maintained that the Taliban would respond if attacked by Afghan forces, despite ordering their fighters to stand-down in order to observe Eid peacefully.[41]
2–3 August – The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant – Khorasan Province (ISKP) group's suicide car bomber and gunmen attacked a prison in Jalalabad Nangarhar Province, in eastern Afghanistan. Beginning on August 2, the battle between soldiers went on for 20 hours. At least 29, including at least 8 ISIS attackers, were killed in the Jalalabad attack, while around 50 were injured. More than 25 prisoners escaped, while around 1,025 inmates, who tried to flee the compound, were recaptured.[42]
9 September – Ten people are killed and 31 including First Vice-president Amrullah Saleh are injured in a bombing in Kabul. The Taliban deny responsibility for the attack.[44]
12 September – Representatives of the government and the Taliban meet in Qatar to begin peace talks. U.S. Vice-president Mike Pence attends to inauguration in Doha.[45]
18 October – A car bomb was placed outside a police headquarter in the western province of Ghor. The explosion left 13 civilians dead and more than 120 people wounded.[48]
21 October
During an application for visas to Pakistan at Jalalabad Stadium, at least twelve women were killed in a human stampede.[49]
24 November – Around 70 countries and 30 international organizations participate in the United Nation's 2020 Afghanistan Conference, pledging US$3.3 billion to support the Afghani peace process.[51]
^Mashal, Mujib; Ghazi, Zabihullah; Gibbons-Neff, Thomas; Jakes, Lara (February 9, 2020). "Two American Soldiers Killed in Shootout With Afghan Forces". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 9, 2020. Six other American service members were wounded, Colonel Leggett said in a statement early Sunday. He said an investigation was underway and that the motive for the attack was unclear. The two soldiers killed, part of the Seventh Special Forces Group, were Staff Sgt. Javier J. Gutierrez, 28, of San Antonio and Staff Sgt. Antonio R. Rodriguez, 28, of Las Cruces, N.M., according to a Pentagon statement released Sunday.
^Sediqi, Abdul Qadir; Ahmed, Jibran; Peshimam, Gibran Naiyyar; Greenfield, Charlotte (February 11, 2020). Jain, Rupam; Fernandez, Clarence; Graff, Peter (eds.). "Six killed in suicide blast in Kabul, Taliban deny attack". Reuters. "Six people including two civilians and four military personnel were killed," interior ministry spokesman Nasrat Rahimi told Reuters, adding that 12 people were wounded, five of them civilians.
^Mashal, Mujib (February 18, 2020). "After 5-Month Delay, Ashraf Ghani Is Named Winner of Afghan Election". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 18, 2020. President Ashraf Ghani on Tuesday was declared the winner of Afghanistan's presidential vote after months of delayed results and bitter dispute. [...] Fazel Ahmad Manawi, a senior member of Mr. Abdullah's team, had said hours before the announcement that "neither the institution called independent election commission has legitimacy in our eyes, nor the result they might announce."
^Graham-Harrison, Emma (February 18, 2020). "Ghani declared winner of Afghan election - but opponent rejects result". The Guardian. Five months after Afghans went to the polls to choose a new president, election authorities have declared the incumbent, Ashraf Ghani, the winner, but his main opponent has rejected the result and said he will form his own "inclusive government".
^Sediqi, Abdul Qadir; Peshimam, Gibran (February 19, 2020). Osterman, Cynthia (ed.). "U.S. special envoy discusses Taliban deal with re-elected Afghan president". Reuters. U.S. special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Wednesday discussed a U.S. deal with Taliban militants on a weeklong reduction in violence, meeting the day after Ghani was declared a winner of a disputed presidential poll. [...] Khalilzad, who has led talks with the Taliban on a U.S. troop withdrawal agreement, briefed Ghani on the steps that will be taken after the reduction in violence agreement comes into force, the presidential palace statement said.
^Sultan, Ahmad; Sediqi, Abdul Qadir (May 14, 2020). Gopalakrishnan, Raju (ed.). "Truck bomb in eastern Afghan city kills five, Taliban claim responsibility". Reuters. A truck packed with explosives blew up near a court in the eastern Afghan city of Gardez on Thursday, killing at least five people in an attack claimed by Taliban insurgents. [...] "A car bomb explosion took place near a military court in Gardez city, which is a populated area. Dozens of civilians are feared to be dead and wounded," said Tariq Arian, an interior ministry spokesman.
^TOLOnews. "Jalalabad: 12 Women Killed in Stampede for Pakistani Visas". Archived from the original on October 23, 2020. At least 12 women were trampled to death--and 9 women and 3 men were injured-- during a stampede occurring among those seeking Pakistani visas in Jalalabad city, capital of Nangarhar province on Wednesday, local officials said.
^Radio Free Afghanistan (October 22, 2020). "Local Officials, Kabul Clash Over Whether Children Were Killed In Mosque Air Strike". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Officials in the northern Afghan province of Takhar say 12 children were killed in an air strike on a mosque, but the government in Kabul disputes the account, claiming all those killed were Taliban fighters. The strike occurred on October 21 in Baharak district, some 15 kilometers from the regional capital, Taloqan, where Taliban fighters had killed dozens of Afghan security forces in the early morning, provincial councilor Mohammad Azam Afzali said.
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