Northern Alliance

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The Northern Alliance, officially known as the National United Islamic Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan, was an Afghan military organization which fought the Taliban-led Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001 during the Third Afghan Civil War. The organization maintained wide international recognition as the Islamic State of Afghanistan. The group was founded in September 1996, following the Taliban's takeover of Kabul, by a number of military commanders such as Ahmad Shah Massoud, Ali Mazari and Abdul Rashid Dostum. The alliance was mainly composed of northern ethnic groups of Afghanistan, such as Tajiks, Hazaras and Uzbeks, though later some Pashtuns were also integrated under the leadership of Haji Abdul Qadir. The alliance's main backer was Iran while the Taliban were extensively supported by Pakistan. By 2001 the Northern Alliance had lost control of pivotal cities and controlled only about 5% of the country, cornered in the northeast and based in Badakhshan province...

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