.
The
International Security Assistance Force(
ISAF) was a
NATO-led security mission in
Afghanistan, established by the
United Nations Security Council in December 2001 by
Resolution 1386, as envisaged by the
Bonn Agreement.
[2][3] Its main purpose was to train the
Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) and assist Afghanistan in rebuilding key government institutions, but was also engaged in the
2001–present war with the
Taliban insurgency.
ISAF was initially charged with securing
Kabuland the surrounding areas from the
Taliban,
al Qaeda and factional warlords, to allow for the establishment of the
Afghan Transitional Administration headed by
Hamid Karzai.
[4] In October 2003, the UN Security Council authorized the expansion of the ISAF mission throughout Afghanistan,
[5] and ISAF subsequently expanded the mission in four main stages over the whole of the country.
[6]From 2006 to 2011, ISAF had become increasingly involved in more intensive combat operations in southern and eastern Afghanistan.
Troop contributors included the
United States,
United Kingdom, other
NATO member statesand a number of
other countries. The intensity of the combat faced by contributing nations varied greatly, with the United States sustaining the most total casualties, but with other contributors, especially the United Kingdom,
Canada, and
Denmark, sustaining more casualties relative to their population size. In early 2010, there were at least 700 military bases inside Afghanistan. About 400 of these were used by American‑led NATO forces and 300 by ANSF.
[7]
ISAF ceased combat operations and was disbanded in December 2014, with some troops remaining behind in an advisory role as part of ISAF's successor organization, the
Resolute Support Mission.