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Afghanistan lies landlocked in central Asia, three-quarters of its territory inaccessible terrain. Its political system, economy, and infrastructure have been devastated by decades of armed conflict. In the 1980s Islamic mujahideen factions defeated the Soviet-backed communist regime, but rivalries undermined their fragile power-sharing agreement and the hard-line taliban militia swept to power in 1996. Islamic dress codes and behavior were vigorously enforced and women left with few rights or opportunities. The taliban regime crumbled in the face of the US-led "war on terrorism" launched in late 2001.