Soviet invasion of Afghanistan
A Soviet armoured vehicle rolling past a group of civilians during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, December 1979.
Afghan War
1978β1992
Afghan War, in the history of Afghanistan, the internal conflict that began in 1978 between anticommunist Islamic guerrillas and the Afghan communist government (aided in 1979β89 by Soviet troops), leading to the overthrow of the government in 1992. More broadly, the term also encompasses military activity within Afghanistan after 1992βbut apart from the Afghanistan War (2001β14), a U.S.-led invasion launched in response to the September 11 attacks on the United States in 2001. By this...