Beginning on 1 May 2021, the Taliban launched a major offensive across Afghanistan as foreign troops were in the process of withdrawing. The insurgents advanced rapidly in rural districts and captured numerous provincial centres in the following months. The offensive undermined the government’s position and altered the military-political landscape of the country. It also signalled to international observers that the frontier phase of the war was entering a new stage. The offensive set the scene for the collapse of the previous regime in August.
