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Afghan Mujahedeen is formed
They formed together to fight in the Soviet-Afghan war against their government. They were helped by the United States as well as Bin Laden. -
Operation Cyclone
Code name for the operation to arm and finance the Afghan prior, and during, the Soviet War. We trained them so they could fight against their government. This helped stop communism. -
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Rise Of Al-Qaeda
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Soviet-Afghan War
This war lasted nine years. The war was between Soviet-led Afghan forces and the Mujahideen. They were fighting against their government because they didn't want communism. -
Al-Qaeda Is Founded
After the war ended, Osama Bin Laden formed Al-Qaeda. He saw the group as a base for jihad (holy war). Since it was created, Al-Qaeda has carried out many attacks including 9/11 and the Yemen Hotel Bombing. -
First Al-Qaeda attack in Somalia
A bomb went off at a hotel in Yemen which was intended to kill U.S. soldiers. Instead, two Australian tourists were killed. Another bomb was set at a second hotel, but it failed to explode. -
World Trade Center Bombing
Ramzi Yousef parked a van of explosives beneath the World Trade Center. He was hoping to kill thousands of people by knocking down both the North and South Tower. Fortunately, that didn't happen, but the explosion did kill six people and injured over one thousand. -
Taliban Allows Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan
Bin Laden moved Al-Qaeda to Afghanistan, and although he annoyed the Taliban's leader, Mullah Omar, their relationship improved over time. The two armies intergrated into one between 1997 to 2001. But today, the two groups don't get along very good because of how many differences they have. -
United States Embassy Bombings
This is the attack that brought Al-Qaeda to the attention of the American public for the first time and caused the FBI to put Osama Bin Laden on its Most Wanted list. At around 10:30 am, suicide bombers parked outside the embassy. The bombs went off and 212 people(12 Americans) were killed and 4,000 people were wounded. -
Osama Bin Laden Is Killed
The Operation that carried out his death was called Operation Neptune Spear. After killing him, US forces took his body and buried it at sea within 24 hours of his death. After his death was confirmed, many people vowed to take revenge for his killing.
