The Soviet–Afghan War lasted over nine years from December 1979 to February 1989. Insurgent groups aka “the Mujahideen” fought against the Soviet Army and allied Afghan forces. Between 850,000–1.5 million civilians were killed and millions of Afghans fled the country as refugees, mostly to Pakistan and Iran. After King Mohammad Shah was deposed by his cousin Daoud Khan and Khan was then assassinated shortly after by his own military, President Taraki took over, then assassinated by Hafizullah Amin. Amin was shortly killed in a Coup immediately before the Russian invasion. This intense power struggle caused more death and destruction due to the execution of political prisoners as well as rebellion led by the Mujahideen and Taliban. At the time the Mujahideen and Taliban were highly sympathized and only became known as terrorists after the violation of humanitarian laws, however both fight for religious reasons.
The Bailey Blog 