Mars 32001 TALIBAN WARRIORS (16 figs)

The Taliks are an extreme, fundamentalist Sunni organization that was created in 1994. The roots of the organization go back to a small group of students of mullah Mohammed Omar (numbering about 30), which assumed the armed takeover of power in Afghanistan. The organization's popularity grew relatively quickly, and the Taliban skillfully fueled dissatisfaction with the previous secular government and the difficult economic situation in the country. As a result of the civil war in 1996, the Taliban took power in Afghanistan, but their rule gained very limited support on the international forum. During their reign, they introduced an extreme interpretation of Koranic law in the country and started religious persecution of the followers of Hinduism and Shiism. The Taliban also supported - directly or indirectly - terrorist organizations, especially al-Qaeda. This led to the US intervention (from October 2001) that overthrew the Taliban rule. However, many Taliban hid in the mountains and conduct military operations against the coalition forces from there. In 2008, their number was estimated at 7-11 thousand. people, and at the beginning of 2019 they controlled - according to various estimates - from 30 to 50% of the territory of Afghanistan.