View source for Kandahar

====NATO invasion and withdrawal====
{{Further|War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)}}
[[File:KANDAHAR TEN-MILER.jpg|thumb|[[United States Army|U.S. Army]] troops in 2009 passing by the starting point of the [[Army Ten-Miler]] run at their base next to [[Kandahar International Airport]]]]
In October 2001, as part of [[War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)|Operation Enduring Freedom]], the [[United States Navy]] began [[bombing of Kandahar (2001)|hitting targets]] inside the city by [[Precision-guided munition|precision-guided]] [[cruise missile]]s that were fired from the [[Persian Gulf]]. These targets were the Kandahar International Airport and buildings that were occupied by the Taliban, including [[History of Arabs in Afghanistan|Arab]] families who had arrived several years earlier and were residing in the area.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7193579.stm |title=Kandahar's cemetery of 'miracles' |publisher=BBC News |date=17 January 2008 |access-date=2008-01-20}}</ref> About a month later, the Taliban began surrendering in mass numbers to a private militia that had been formed by [[Gul Agha Sherzai]] and [[Hamid Karzai]].<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.time.com/time/asia/2003/journey/afghanistan.html |title=Home Free|quote=''Hamid Karzai dreamed for years of his eventual homecoming. But for both him and his newly reborn nation, the journey has only begun''|magazine=Time|access-date=9 January 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090724022555/http://www.time.com/time/asia/2003/journey/afghanistan.html|archive-date=24 July 2009}}</ref> Kandahar once again fell into the hands of Sherzai, who had control over the area before the rise of the Taliban. He was transferred to [[Nangarhar Province]] in 2003 and replaced by [[Yousef Pashtun]] until [[Asadullah Khalid]] took the post in 2005. 

In 2002, members of the United States armed forces took control of the Kandahar International Airport. Years later [[NATO]]'s [[International Security Assistance Force]] (ISAF) began training members of the new [[Afghan National Security Forces]] and provided security for the city. The [[military of Afghanistan]], backed by ISAF, gradually expanded its authority and presence throughout most of the country. The [[205th Corps (Afghanistan)|205th Corps]] of the [[Afghan National Army]] was based at Kandahar and provided military assistance to the south of the country. The [[Canadian Forces]] maintained their military command headquarters at Kandahar, heading the [[Train Advise Assist Command – South|Regional Command South]] of ISAF in Kandahar Province. The Taliban also had supporters inside the city reporting on events.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8203830.stm |title=Kandahar dreamers test Taliban edicts |date=16 August 2009 |access-date=2009-08-18}}</ref>

ISAF gradually expanded the Afghan police force as part of a larger effort that also aimed to deliver services such as electricity and clean drinking water. The most significant battle between ISAF and the Taliban lasted throughout the summer of 2006, culminating in [[Operation Medusa]]. The Taliban failed to defeat the Western troops in open warfare, which marked a turn in their tactics towards [[Improvised explosive device|IED]] emplacement. In June 2008, it was reported that over 1,000 [[Sarposa prison tunneling escape of 2011|inmates had escaped]] from [[Sarposa prison]]. In Spring 2010, the province and the city of Kandahar became a target of American operations following ''[[Operation Moshtarak]]'' in the neighbouring [[Helmand Province]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/27/world/asia/27kandahar.html|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220103/https://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/27/world/asia/27kandahar.html|archive-date=3 January 2022|url-access=subscription|url-status=live|title=Kandahar, a Battlefield Even Before U.S. Offensive|date=27 March 2010|work=The New York Times|access-date=6 May 2016}}{{cbignore}}</ref> In March 2010, U.S. and NATO commanders released details of plans for the biggest offensive of the war against the Taliban insurgency.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://in.reuters.com/article/southAsiaNews/idINIndia-47354120100331|title=Q+A – NATO sees Kandahar battle as Afghan turning point|work=Reuters Editorial|date=31 March 2010|agency=Reuters India|access-date=6 May 2016|archive-date=20 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220920044331/https://www.reuters.com/?edition-redirect=in|url-status=dead}}</ref>
[[File:Governor's courtyard in Kandahar.jpg|thumb|The [[List of governors of Kandahar|Governor's Complex]] in the center of the city, across from [[Khirka Sharif]]]]
[[File:Mosque in Kandahar-2011.jpg|thumb|[[Mausoleum of Ahmad Shah Durrani]], next to [[Khirka Sharif]]]]
In May 2010, Kandahar International Airport became subject of a combined rocket and ground attack by insurgents, following similar attacks on Kabul and Bagram in the preceding weeks. Although this attack did not lead to many casualties on the side of ISAF, it did show that the militants were still capable of launching multiple, coordinated operations in Afghanistan. In June 2010, a [[shura]] was held by then-Afghan President Hamid Karzai with tribal and religious leaders of the Kandahar region. The meeting highlighted the need for support of NATO-led forces in order to stabilize parts of the province.

In July 2011 [[Ahmad Wali Karzai]], brother of President Hamid Karzai, was killed by one of his close bodyguards. The next day the mullah of the famous [[Red Mosque, Kandahar|Red Mosque]] and a number of other people were killed by a Taliban suicide bomber who had hidden explosives inside his [[turban]]. On 27 July 2011, the mayor of the city, [[Ghulam Haider Hamidi]], was assassinated by another Taliban militant who had hidden explosives in his turban. Two [[deputy mayor]]s had been killed in 2010,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/07/27/afghanistan.mayor.killed/index.html|title=Kandahar mayor killed in suicide attack; Taliban claim responsibility|access-date=6 May 2016|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304111007/http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/07/27/afghanistan.mayor.killed/index.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> while many tribal elders and Islamic clerics have also been assassinated in the last several years. The overwhelming majority of the victims in the attacks were ordinary civilians.<ref name=civilians>[http://www.pajhwok.com/en/2011/10/10/challenges-remain-despite-reduced-rebel-attacks-isaf Challenges remain despite reduced rebel attacks: ISAF] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130612004042/http://www.pajhwok.com/en/2011/10/10/challenges-remain-despite-reduced-rebel-attacks-isaf |date=12 June 2013 }}. Pajhwok Afghan News. 10 October 2011.</ref> On 6 June 2012, at least 21 civilians were killed and 50 others injured when two Taliban suicide bombers on motorcycles blew themselves up in a market area near Kandahar International Airport.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://pajhwok.com/2012/06/06/21-killed-50-injured-twin-suicide-blasts/ |title=21 killed, 50 injured in twin suicide blasts |publisher=Pajhwok Afghan News |date=6 June 2012 |access-date=2012-06-08}}</ref>

On [[May 2020 Afghanistan attacks|4 May 2020]], a policewoman was assassinated in the centre of Kandahar, making her the fifth policewoman to be killed during the previous two months in Kandahar. No group claimed responsibility for the killing of the policewomen by the end of the day of the reported event.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/south-central-asia_taliban-claim-attack-afghan-army-base/6188667.html |title=Taliban Claim Attack on Afghan Army Base |date=4 May 2020 |publisher=Voice of America |access-date=2020-05-28}}</ref>

On or about 12 August 2021, the Taliban [[Battle of Kandahar (2021)|recaptured Kandahar]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-174207 |title=Kandahar, Helmand and Zabul Also Fall to Taliban |work=TOLOnews |date=13 August 2021 |access-date=2026-01-23 |language=en}}</ref> After days of fighting the NATO-trained [[Afghan National Army]] retreated from the city.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Akhgar|first1=Tameem|title=Taliban take Kandahar, Herat in major Afghanistan offensive|url=https://apnews.com/article/middle-east-afghanistan-taliban-26d485963b7a0d9f2107afcbc38f239a|website=Apnews|date=12 August 2021|access-date=12 August 2021|archive-date=12 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210812043017/https://apnews.com/article/middle-east-afghanistan-taliban-26d485963b7a0d9f2107afcbc38f239a|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Goldbaum|first1=Christina|title=Afghanistan Collapse Accelerates as 2 Vital Cities Near Fall to Taliban|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/12/world/asia/kandahar-afghanistan-taliban.html|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20211228/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/12/world/asia/kandahar-afghanistan-taliban.html|archive-date=28 December 2021|url-access=limited|newspaper=The New York Times|date=12 August 2021|access-date=12 August 2021}}{{cbignore}}</ref> It became the twelfth provincial capital to be retaken as part of the wider [[2021 Taliban offensive]]. On 15 October 2021, four suicide bombers killed dozens at a [[2021 Kandahar bombing|Shia mosque]] in the city.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-175050 |title=Kandahar Mosque Attack Victims Buried |work=TOLOnews |date=16 October 2021 |access-date=2026-01-23 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.ariananews.af/iea-pledges-to-increase-security-at-shiite-mosques-after-2nd-deadly-bombing/ |title=IEA pledges to increase security at Shi'ite mosques after 2nd deadly bombing |work=Ariana News |date=October 17, 2021 |access-date=2026-01-23 |language=en}}</ref>