Soviet-Afghan War: 48 Photos From The Conflict That Birthed Al-Qaeda

The Soviet-Afghan War sparked the collapse of the Soviet Union, the rise of The Taliban and Al Qaeda, and a new era of war and terror.

Disabled Soviet Veteran From Soviet-Afghan War

Soviet Tanks Roll In During Soviet-Afghan War

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A mujahideen fighter shows off his RPGs.

Jalalabad, Afghanistan. 1989.Robert Nickelsberg/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images

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A wounded mujahideen fighter reaches out for help.

Afghanistan. 1989.David Stewart-Smith/Getty Images

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A boy soldier in the mujahideen with his arms full of explosives.

Kabul, Afghanistan. 1992.Robert Nickelsberg/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images

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A newspaper clipping shows Osama bin Laden (center) among the Mujahideen fighters who are receiving arms and aid from the United States.

Afghanistan. 1988.Aynsley Floyd/Getty Images

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Though the Soviets have withdrawn, the war, for the people of Afghanistan, is far from over.

Here, mujahideen fighters advance on Jalalabad, preparing for a battle that will soon become a massacre.

Jalalabad, Afghanistan. 1989.David Stewart-Smith/Getty Images

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A guerilla soldier points a stinger rocket launcher at a passing aircraft.

The US-supplied stinger rocket launchers have been called the key to the mujahideen's ultimate victory in Afghanistan.

Safed Koh Mountains, Afghanistan. 1988.Robert Nickelsberg/Liaison

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A mujahideen soldier wears a Russian cap, torn off the body of a Soviet soldier.

Jalalabad, Afghanistan. 1989.David Stewart-Smith/Getty Images

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A mujahideen soldier shows off his anti-aircraft weapon.

Jegdalay, Afghanistan. 1988.David Stewart-Smith/Getty Images

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A returning soldier sniffs a flower, handed out by Soviet civilans that gave them a hero's welcome home.

Soviet Union. 1986.Wikimedia Commons

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A Soviet soldier smokes on the streets of Kabul.

Kabul, Afghanistan. 1988.Patrick Robert/Sygma via Getty Images

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Mujahideen soldiers fire their artillery.

Khost, Afghanistan. 1991.David Stewart-Smith/Getty Images

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American Congressman Charlie Wilson poses with mujahideen fighters in Afghanistan.

Wilson was instrumental in arranging American support for the mujahideen fighters.

Afghanistan. Date unspecified.Wikimedia Commons

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Mujahideen soldiers camp for the night in the rubble of a city.

Kabul, Afghanistan. 1988.David Stewart-Smith/Getty Images

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Mujahideen fighters pose for a photograph with palms outstretched.

Afghanistan. 1980.Wikimedia Commons

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A wounded Soviet veteran is helped up the stairs.

Soviet Union. 1990.Wikimedia Commons

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Islamic rebels in Afghanistan set out on horseback against the Soviet Army.

Doab Valley, Afghanistan. 1980.Bettmann/Getty Images

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The Soviet Army, with a line of tanks behind them.

Afghanistan. 1986.Wikimedia Commons

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Three mujahideen resistance fighters.

Asmar, Afghanistan. 1985.Wikimedia Commons

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Russian Special Forces prepare for a mission.

Afghanistan. 1988.Wikimedia Commons

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Mujahideen soldiers rest before preparing a mortar attaack.

Kunar, Afghanistan. 1987.Wikimedia Commons

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Soviet troops roll in on an armored personnel carrier.

Afghanistan. 1985.Wikimedia Commons

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Mujahideen pose with a captured Soviet field gun.

Jaji, Afghanistan. 1984.Wikimedia Commons

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Mujahideen fighters prepare to fire their artillery.

Samarkhel, Afghanistan. 1989.David Stewart-Smith/Getty Images

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Soviet soldiers stand by armored vehicles.

Afghanistan. 1986.Wikimedia Commons

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Mujahideen fighters make their way down a hill.

Afghanistan. 1985.Wikimedia Commons

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Soviet special forces stop to gather water from a creek, marching through enemy territory.

Afghanistan. 1986.Wikimedia Commons

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Soviet troops interrogate a captured mujahideen fighter.

Afghanistan. 1987.Wikimedia Commons

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Mujahideen fighters return to their village to find it in ruins, destroyed by Soviet shells.

Afghanistan. 1986.Wikimedia Commons

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A Soviet soldier stands on guard.

Afghanistan. 1988.Wikimedia Commons

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Afghan refugees who have fled across the border with Pakistan protest against the Soviet occupation of their home country.

Pakistan. 1979.Pascal Manoukian/Sygma/Sygma via Getty Images

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Mujahideen fighters pray.

Kunar, Afghanistan. 1987.Wikimedia Commons

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An Afghan refugee camp in Pakistan.

After the Soviets took control of the country, many people fled Afghanistan for Pakistan. Some are still there today.

Pakistan. 2001.Flickr/United Nations

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A young Afghan child in a refugee camp in Pakistan.

Chaman, Pakistan. 2001.Flickr/United Nations

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Wounded Mujahideen soldiers are taken to the United States for medical treatment.

United States. 1989.Wikimedia Commons

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Medics rush a mujahideen fighter into a plane, to be taken to the United States for treatment.

Pakistan. 1986.Wikimedia Commons

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Afghan guerrillas hold a press conference in the United States, telling the American people about their injuries and their battles against the Soviet army.

California, USA. 1986.Wikimedia Commons

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President Ronald Reagan sits down with mujahideen fighters inside the White House.

Washington, D.C. 1983.Wikimedia Commons

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A Mujahideen soldier prepares to fire an RPG.

Jalalabad, Afghanistan. 1989.David Stewart-Smith/Getty Images

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A mujahideen fighter admires the wreckage of downed airplanes.

Khost, Afghanistan. 1991.David Stewart-Smith/Getty Images

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Mujahideen fighters pose on top of a captured Soviet vehicle.

Asmar, Afghanistan. 1980s.Pascal Manoukian/Sygma/Sygma via Getty Images

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The Soviet Union withdraws.

Here, the last troops of the Soviet Army are crossing the border and coming home.

Soviet-Afghan border. 1989.Wikimedia Commons

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A Soviet soldier embraces his father upon returning home from Afghanistan.

Soviet Union. 1986.Wikimedia Commons

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Soviet helicopters and tanks storm in against mujahideen fighters.

Afghanistan. 1984.Wikimedia Commons

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Tourists pose on top of an abandoned Soviet tank.

When the Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan, much of their weaponry was left behind. Some were put to use by factions like the Taliban.

Kabul, Afghanistan. 2010.Wikimedia Commons

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The Mujahideen move on to attack government forces.

Jalalabad, Afghanistan. 1989.David Stewart-Smith/Getty Images

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Abdul Rasul Sayyaf as an Afghan mujahideen commander.

Sayyaf would soon invite Osama Bin Laden into Afghanistan. Together, the two would start a school called the "Call of Jihad" that trained many of the world's worst terrorists.

Jaji, Afghanistan. 1984.Wikimedia Commons

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Taliban soldiers make use of a captured Soviet tank.

Kabul, Afghanistan. 1996.SAEED KHAN/AFP/Getty Images

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Taliban forces hold a rally after taking control of Afghanistan.

Kabul, Afghanistan. 1996.Robert Nickelsberg/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images

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The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan changed the world.

This nine-year power struggle in a small, landlocked country ultimately led to some of the most profound moments in modern history. This one conflict sparked the collapse of the Soviet Union, the rise of Osama bin Laden, the age of jihadist terrorism, and the birth of the Taliban and Al Qaeda.

In time, the ripples of the Soviet-Afghan War brought the Twin Towers to the ground, brought American troops to the Middle East, and created a new era of wars and terrorism that plague the world today.

It all began in Afghanistan, one of the poorest countries in the world. In 1979, a successful coup by the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (DRA) caused the formation of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan, which set off a wave of rebellions from the mujahideen: largely rural, conservative Islamists resistant to the DRA's forced change.

In response, the Red Army, aligned with the DRA, invaded Afghanistan and took power over the country. Mujahideen rebel fighters rose up against them, waging what at first seemed like an unwinnable war.

All that changed, however, when the United States got involved. The American government helped set up training schools in Pakistan. They encouraged fighters from around the Middle East to join the war. And, in a campaign spearheaded by Congressman Charlie Wilson, they equipped the mujahideen fighters with advanced weaponry like the Stinger missile launcher.

The tide of battle then shifted. With American weapons in their hands, the mujahideen had a fighting chance that the Soviet Union hadn't prepared for. By 1989, the Soviet Army gave up. They abandoned Afghanistan, leaving tanks and armored vehicles behind, and went home. The Soviet-Afghan War had come to an end.

For the people of Afghanistan, though, the fighting was far from over. International attention may have wandered elsewhere, but their fight raged on. Now, though, it had irrevocably changed.

The Pakistani training schools that the United States had helped established had trained some of the most dangerous terrorists the world would come to know, including Osama bin Laden, and they had placed incredibly powerful weapons in their hands.

Eventually, the Afghanistan Civil War would end with the Taliban on top. Extremists would take power over the country and would help spark a new wave of international terrorism. And what transpired would have effects that the world continues to deal with today — and likely well into the future.

After exploring these photographs from the Soviet war in Afghanistan, discover fascinating facts about Osama bin Laden.

Where Al-Qaeda Began: 48 Photos From The Soviet-Afghan War

The Soviet-Afghan War sparked the collapse of the Soviet Union, the rise of The Taliban and Al Qaeda, and a new era of war and terror.