On September 26, 2001, a CIA team codenamed "Jawbreaker" arrived in Afghanistan and began to work with other anti-Taliban groups in the country. By working with these groups, the US hoped that it would not have to deploy a large force into the country. The Northern Alliance was the U.S.'s primary partner in the war against the Taliban and al-Qaeda. The Northern Alliance had just lost their leader, Ahmad Massoud, prior to the September 11th attack and had been forced to regroup under new leaders. The United States also partnered with the Pashtuns, another anti-Taliban group which was led by Hamid Karzai.
The CIA team was later joined by special forces teams from the United States and Great Britain. Together, they provided weapons, equipment and advice to the anti-Taliban Afghans. These forces also helped coordinate the air campaign launched by America on October 7, 2001. This operation became known as Operation Enduring Freedom, an airstrike campaign which targeted the Taliban and al-Qaeda as well as their strongholds in Kabul, Kandahar, and Jalalabad. The campaign lasted for five days.
In late October, ground forces began to take cities and towns one-by-one. The American forces paired with the Northern Alliance quickly took town after town as the Taliban were repeatedly pushed back. By mid-November, the city of Kabul had been claimed by the American and northern Alliance forces. On December 6, Kandahar fell after being besieged by a force headed by Hamid Karzai. This marked the end of Taliban power in Afghanistan and caused al-Qaeda and bin Laden to flee. After this major victory, the United States' focus began to shift towards reconstruction.