Taliban

The Taliban (Pashto:طالبان‎ ṭālibān "students"), alternatively spelled Taleban, is an Islamic fundamentalist political movement in Afghanistan currently waging war (an insurgency, or jihad) within that country. From 1996 to 2001, it held power in Afghanistan and enforced a strict interpretation of Sharia, or Islamic law, of which the international community and leading Muslims have been highly critical. Until his death in 2013, Mullah Mohammed Omar was the supreme commander and spiritual leader of the Taliban. Mullah Akhtar Mansour was elected as his replacement in 2015, but as of November 2015 there are conflicting reports that he may have been killed or badly wounded. As of mid-2015, the group is "directly or indirectly" supported in Afghanistan by "about a dozen" militant groups, having "different goals and agendas".