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Afghanistan war: A decade in PHOTOS

In the aftermath of the ghastly 9/11 attacks in the United States, then president George W Bush argued that the Taliban in Afghanistan were sheltering the culprits, Al Qaeda.

The call to war in Afghanistan won the support of NATO, with then British Prime Minister Tony Blair in the lead as the US's most enthusiastic ally. The war began on 8 October 2001.

Tens of thousands of Afghan civilians have died. Some 200,000 people are internally displaced and three million have become refugees. Among the occupying troops there have been 2,670 casualties -- including 1,717 from the US and 382 from Britain.

And the war is still not over. Despite pumping in billions of dollars into the warzone, the allied forces are yet to completely accomplish their task.

Let's see some glimpses of the Afghan war over the decade.

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Afghanistan war: A decade in PHOTOS

A wounded Canadian soldier from the NATO-led coalition crawls for cover seconds after his position was hit by a Taliban shell fired from an 82-millimeter recoilless rifle during an ambush in Zhari district, October 23, 2007. 

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Afghanistan war: A decade in PHOTOS

US Marines from Charlie 1/1 of the 15th MEU (Marine Expeditionary Unit) fill sand bags around their light mortar position on the front lines in southern Afghanistan, December 1, 2001

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Afghanistan war: A decade in PHOTOS

A young amputee boy walks through the Eidgah mosque in Kabul, December 8, 2001.

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Afghanistan war: A decade in PHOTOS

A NATO soldier smokes during a lull in fighting against Taliban insurgents in Sangasar, Zari district, July 3, 2007. 

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Afghanistan war: A decade in PHOTOS

A defused mortar head is planted during a mine and unexploded ordnances awareness class for school boys in Qarabagh district, north of Kabul, November 20, 2007. 

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Afghanistan war: A decade in PHOTOS

An Afghan National Policeman returns to his base after a firefight in Kolk in Zhari district, November 15, 2007

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Afghanistan war: A decade in PHOTOS

A French sniper looks through his rifle's scope while keeping watch over Qarabagh district, north of Kabul, November 20, 2007

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Afghanistan war: A decade in PHOTOS

A NATO soldier rests on the muzzle of his rifle as he sleeps while riding in an armored vehicle in Kandahar province, November 16, 2007

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Afghanistan war: A decade in PHOTOS

NATO soldiers detain an Afghan man in front of their base after the Taliban fired a rocket and killed an Afghan truck driver, west of Kandahar in Zahri district, October 22, 2007

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Afghanistan war: A decade in PHOTOS

A dust-covered Afghan National Army soldier with a flower tucked behind his ear rides on the back of a vehicle during a patrol near Panjwaii town, November 13, 2007

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Afghanistan war: A decade in PHOTOS

Afghan policemen stand next to a captured Taliban fighter after a gun battle near the village of Shajoy in Zabol province, March 22, 2008

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Afghanistan war: A decade in PHOTOS

Sgt William Olas Bee, a US Marine from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, has a close call after Taliban fighters open fire near Garmsir in Helmand Province, May 18, 2008

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Afghanistan war: A decade in PHOTOS

An iPod music player attached to the tactical vest of a U.S. soldier of 3rd Platoon from the 3rd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division as he drives to the site of a roadside bomb explosion in the mountains of Wardak Province, July 11, 2009

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Afghanistan war: A decade in PHOTOS

Afghan soldiers' boots with holes are left by a wall while the soldiers take a shower in Kabul, August 17, 2009.

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Afghanistan war: A decade in PHOTOS

Soldiers from the US Army's Alpha Battery, 425 Field Artillery, 3rd brigade of 10th Mountain Division based in Fort Drum, New York, fire their 155 mm Howitzer in Cop Cherokee base in Logar province, October 4, 2009

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Afghanistan war: A decade in PHOTOS

Afghan men wait to be searched at a checkpoint at Delaram district in Nimroz province, January 21, 2010

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Afghanistan war: A decade in PHOTOS

Soldiers from the US Army's 3-17 Field Artillery, 5-2ID Striker Brigade Combat Team fire a 155mm Howitzer at night from Forward Operating Base Ramrod in Kandahar Province, April 13, 2010

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Afghanistan war: A decade in PHOTOS

US Marine Lance Corporal Chris Sanderson, 24, from Flemington, New Jersey, shouts as he tries to protect an Afghan man and his child after Taliban fighters opened fire in the town of Marjah, in Nad Ali district, Helmand province, February 13, 2010

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Afghanistan war: A decade in PHOTOS

US President Barack Obama meets with troops at Bagram Air Base in Kabul, March 28, 2010

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Afghanistan war: A decade in PHOTOS

A US Army soldier with 508th Special Troops Battalion, 82nd Airborne Division, walks inside a cell for detainees at a local police station outside the town of Kandahar, March 25, 2010

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Afghanistan war: A decade in PHOTOS

An Afghan Army soldier takes part in a joint patrol with US Army soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division in the village of Kuhak in Arghandab District, north of Kandahar, July 7, 2010

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Afghanistan war: A decade in PHOTOS

Afghan National Army soldiers carry explosives during preparations to destroy more than 1500kg (3307 lbs) of ammonium nitrate fertiliser, which is used in making bombs, outside Kabul, April 21, 2010

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Afghanistan war: A decade in PHOTOS

A group of men detained for suspected Taliban activities are held for questioning at a schoolhouse in the village of Kuhak in Arghandab District, north of Kandahar, July 9, 2010

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Afghanistan war: A decade in PHOTOS

A worker waits as goods are unloaded from his vehicle next to a street in Kabul, September 17, 2010

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Afghanistan war: A decade in PHOTOS

Two Northern Alliance soldiers watch as dust and smoke rise after explosions hit Taliban positions on Kalakata hill, near the village of Ai-Khanum in northern Afghanistan, November 1, 2001

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Afghanistan war: A decade in PHOTOS

An Afghan girl watches through a bus window as Afghan National Army troops and NATO soldiers conduct a foot patrol through the main market in the Taliban stronghold of Panjwaii town, Kandahar province, October 16, 2007

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