2020 in Afghanistan

27 January

A plane crashed in Ghazni Province.[1] It was unclear what was the identity of the plane. some reports said it was a 737-300 manufactured by Boeing.[2] Other report suggested it was a US Air Force E-11A airplane.[3] The US Army said it was investigating a plane crash in a Taliban-held area.[4]

29 January

Afghan special forces raided a Taliban compound in Bala Murghab, Badghis Province, freeing 62 hostages.[5] A Taliban attack in Kunduz killed multiple Afghan security forces.[5]

Unknown date

Two senior members of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan - Sheikh Khalid Haqqani and Qari Saif Younis - were found assassinated near the Hotel Inter-Continental Kabul.[6][7]

6 February

The CASA-1000 project was inaugurated, in a ceremony attended by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Pakistani Ambassador to Afghanistan Zahid Nasrullah Khan.[8]

8 February

Two U.S. Army Special Forces soldiers were killed, and six more were wounded, in an insider attack in Sherzad District, Nangarhar Province.[9][10]

11 February

A suicide bomber killed at least six people near the Marshal Fahim National Defense University in Kabul.[11][12]

15 February

U.S. negotiators and the Taliban agreed on a seven-day "reduction in violence" period, with the ultimate aim of reducing U.S. forces from 12,000 to 8,600 over coming months. U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said the period is "conditions-based" but would involve suspending a "significant part" of U.S. operations, though no start date has yet been selected. Consultations are scheduled for 21 February between Esper, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and Afghan president Ashraf Ghani. The announcement follows an earlier Taliban ultimatum to reply to their proposal for such a reduction, though the Taliban still refuse to meet with Afghan government officials in any capacity but as private citizens.[13]

18 February

President Ashraf Ghani was formally declared the winner of the 2019 Afghan presidential election, though Abdullah Abdullah disputed the results, and announced his intentions to form his own government.[14][15]

19 February

President Ashraf Ghani and U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad met to discuss U.S. peace negotiations with the Taliban.[16]

29 February

The United States and the Taliban sign an agreement that may lead to the end of the war in Afghanistan.[17]

6 March

Two ISIL insurgents shot 32 people dead in Kabul.

25 March

ISIL attack a gurdwara (Sikh house of worship) in Kabul, killing 25 people.[18]

29 March

The Taliban kill six Afghan troops and police officers in Zabul province and five in Baghlan province.[19]

30 March

A sticky bomb attached to a vehicle detonated Kabul, wounding four people. The Taliban are to send ten representatives to the U.S. Bagram Airfield, to oversee the release of 5,000 prisoners.[19] Reuters reports 27 security forces and 13 Taliban killed in fighting.[20]

1 May

Drowning of Afghan refugees in the Hari River

12 May

A mass shooting in Kabul and a suicide bombing in Nangarhar Province.[21] Unknown attackers killed 24 and injured 16 others, including new-born babies, mothers, and nurses at a maternity hospital in Kabul.[22]

14 May

A car bomb was detonated in Gardez, Paktia Province, killing 5 people and wounding 14. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the attack.[23]

23 May

The Taliban and Afghan government announce a three-day ceasefire beginning on Eid al-Fitr. It is only the third time that a truce has been agreed upon since the conflict began.[24] UN Secretary-General António Guterres welcomed the announcement and urged all parties to embrace the Afghan peace process.[25]

6 June

Eleven members of the security forces and four insurgents were killed in Badakhshan Province. Three police officers were killed in a gun battle in Guldara District, Kabul Province.

12 June

Four people were killed and another eight injured in a bombing at a Kabul mosque.

17 June

12 security forces members were killed and 5 wounded during a Taliban attack in Aqcha District, Jowzjan Province. Four soldiers were taken hostage in the attack, and five Taliban militants killed.[26] Two security checkpoints in the Aqcha district were hit from different angles by the attackers, in an attempt to take over their control, a spokesman in the Jawzjan province confirmed. [27] However, the actual extent of casualties are yet to be ascertained, as the group behind the attack has not issued a statement yet. [28]