in Tangi Tarakhil on the outskirts of Kabul. December 13 – Killings Gunmen assassinate Atiqullah Rawoofi, the head of the Secretariat of the Supreme Court of Afghanistan, in the outskirts of Kabul. Twenty-one people die in attacks across Afghanistan including two American soldiers. 2015 2015 saw the Taliban make various gains in Afghanistan in an attempt to fracture the fledgling Afghan government with successes not seen since NATO intervened in 2001. The Taliban has increased suicide attacks and has made multiple territorial gains across the country. Kunduz offensive Beginning in April, the Taliban fought for the city of Kunduz in the northern Kunduz Province with them capturing the city by September. Afghan Armed Forces recaptured the city in October but local sources dispute this claim. The quick fall of the city resulted in calls by some government officials for President Ashraf Ghani and CEO Abdullah Abdullah to resign. Helmand offensive In December, the Taliban made more territorial gains by besieging Afghan forces in the cities of Lashkar Gah, Sangin and outlying towns in the Helmand Province in Southern Afghanistan. By late December, most of Sangin was captured by the Taliban with local Afghan forces surrounded and forced to rely on airlifts for ammunition and food. Effects The gains made by the Taliban have hampered peace talks between them and the government and made rifts appear in the Taliban over negotiations. In response to the new offensives, it was reported that the United States would slow down their withdrawal of troops to help in counter-insurgency operations. 2016 14 April: Taliban attacking Kunduz; 31 May: kidnapping a bus with 220 people, killing 10; 1 June storming a court in Ghazni, 5 dead Taliban and 5 dead others; June: Taliban have 25,000 fighters in Helmand, Kandahar and Uruzgan, according to US sources; 18 July attacking Qalai Zal, unsuccessfully; July: 20% of Afghanistan is in Taliban hands, said Time magazine; December: Taliban controls 10% of Afghanistan, said the US military. 2017 On 10 January, the Taliban killed dozens of people in bombings in Kabul and Lashkargah, Helmand Province. On 21 April, a least 10 Taliban members attacked Camp Shaheen in Mazar-i-Sharif, Balkh Province, killing at least 140 soldiers. All attackers were killed. On 22 June, a Taliban suicide bomber killed at least 34 people at a bank in Lashkargah. 2018 On 27 January, a Taliban suicide bomber killed over 100 people in Kabul using