Afgan Northern Alliance

Northern Alliance
Participant in the War in Afghanistan and the Global War on Terrorism
Flag flown by the United Islamic Front
Active	September 1996 – December 2001
Leaders	Burhanuddin Rabbani Ahmad Shah Massoud Abdul Rashid Dostum Asif Mohseni Mohammad Mohaqiq Haji Abdul Qadir
Area of operations	Afghanistan
Allies	Iran  Turkey  Tajikistan  Russia  India  Uzbekistan  United States (after September 11, 2001)  Turkmenistan
Opponents	Taliban al-Qaeda

The Afghan Northern Alliance, officially known as the United Islamic Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan (Persian: جبهه متحد اسلامی ملی برای نجات افغانستان‎‎ Jabha-yi Muttahid-i Islāmi-yi Millī barāyi Nijāt-i Afghānistān), was a military front that came to formation in late 1996 after the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (Taliban) took over Kabul. The United Front was assembled by key leaders of the Islamic State of Afghanistan, particularly president Burhanuddin Rabbani and former Defense Minister Ahmad Shah Massoud. Initially it included mostly Tajiks but by 2000, leaders of other ethnic groups had joined the Northern Alliance. This included Abdul Rashid Dostum, Mohammad Mohaqiq, Abdul Qadir, Asif Mohseni and others.

The Northern Alliance fought a defensive war against the Taliban government. They received support from Iran, Russia, Turkey, India, Tajikistan and others, while the Taliban were backed by al-Qaeda. The Northern Alliance was mostly made up of ethnic Tajiks, but later included Uzbeks and Hazaras. The Taliban government was dominated by Pashtuns with other groups being the minority. The US invaded Afghanistan providing support to Northern Alliance troops on the ground in a two-month war against the Taliban, which they won in December 2001. With the establishment of the Karzai administration, the Northern Alliance broke apart and different political parties were formed.