Afghan Armed Forces

Afghan Armed Forces
د اسلامي امارت وسله وال ځواکونه (Pashto)
نیروهای مسلح امارت اسلامی افغانستان (Dari)
The emblem of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan serves as the badge for all branches of the armed forces
MottoArabic: الارض لله والحكم لله
("The land belongs to God, the rule belongs to God")
Founded1997; 27 years ago (1997)
Current form8 November 2021; 2 years ago (2021-11-08)
Service branches
HeadquartersKabul, Afghanistan
Websitewww.mod.gov.af/en
Leadership
Supreme CommanderHibatullah Akhundzada
Head of the Military CommissionMullah Yaqoob
Minister of DefenseMullah Yaqoob (acting)
Chief of StaffQari Fasihuddin (acting)
Commander-in-Chief of the Air ForceAmanuddin Mansoor
Personnel
Active personnelDisputed.
Official: 170,000 (2023)[1]
IISS: 165,000: 75,000 full time; 90,000 local militias (2022)[2]
Industry
Foreign suppliers Russia
Related articles
HistoryMilitary history of Afghanistan
RanksMilitary ranks of Afghanistan
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The Afghan Armed Forces, officially the Armed Forces of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (Pashto: د اسلامي امارت وسله وال ځواکونه, Dari: نیروهای مسلح امارت اسلامی افغانستان)[3] and also referred to as the Islamic Emirate Armed Forces, is the military of Afghanistan, commanded by the Taliban government from 1997 to 2001 and since August 2021. According to Afghanistan's Ministry of Defense, its total manpower is 170,000.

The Taliban created the first iteration of the Emirate's armed forces in 1997 after taking over Afghanistan following the end of the Afghan Civil War which raged between 1992 and 1996. However, the first iteration of the armed forces was dissolved in 2001 after the downfall of the first Taliban government following the United States invasion of Afghanistan. It was officially reestablished on 8 November 2021 after the Taliban's victory in the War in Afghanistan on 15 August 2021 following the recapture of Kabul and the collapse of the U.S.-backed Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and its Afghan National Army as a whole, with the re-establishment of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan after being out of power for 20 years.

  1. ^ "IEA's army now totals 170,000: MoD's Inspector General". Ariana news. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
  2. ^ IISS Military Balance 2022, p.247.
  3. ^ د ملي دفاع وزارت - وزارت دفاع ملی [@modafghanistan2] (28 October 2021). "د افغانستان د اسلامي امارت وسله وال ځواکونه په کوم ځانګړي قوم او سیمه پورې اړه نه لري، بلکې د افغانستان په ټول مجاهد او دیني ولس پورې اړه لري او په ملي، سیمه ییزه او نړیواله کچه د افغانستان تاریخي عظمت بیا رغوي. د افغانستان خلک د دغو ځواکونو په زړورتیا ویاړي. https://t.co/74TIGW1fNs" (Tweet) (in Pashto). Archived from the original on 28 October 2021. Retrieved 21 February 2022 – via Twitter.