The Gulf War, from August 28, 1990 to February 28, 1991, was a conflict between Iraq and a coalition force of approximately 30 nations led by the United States and mandated by the United Nations to liberate Kuwait, and it resulted in approximately 294 military fatalities. In August 1990 Saddam Hussein deployed Iraqi troops to invade Kuwait, the United States led an initiative against Iraq and moved troops into Saudi Arabia, and in November the United Nations Resolution 678 demanded Iraqi withdrawal. In January 1991 the United States and coalition forces launched Operation Desert Storm, attacking Baghdad and other military targets in Iraq with helicopters and war planes, and Saddam Hussein ordered the destruction of Kuwaiti oilfields. In February coalition forces gave Iraq an ultimatum to leave Kuwait and Saddam Hussein refused, initiating the ground war, then ordered the Iraqi withdrawal of troops from Kuwait, and the United States declared a ceasefire for the coalition, ending the war. The War in Afghanistan began in 2001 and continued to the present given here. On 11 September 2001 al Qaeda, led by Osama bin Laden, attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in the United States while bin Laden was being sheltered in Afghanistan by the Taliban. The US demanded that the Taliban hand over bin Laden and they refused. The war's public aims were to dismantle al Qaeda and deny it a safe base of operations in Afghanistan by removing the Taliban from power. Since the initial objectives were completed at the end of 2001, the war has mostly involved US and allied Afghan government troops battling Taliban insurgents. It is the longest war in US history and has resulted in over 2,200 US military casualties. On October 7, 2001 US and British forces began airstrikes in Afghanistan after the Taliban refused to hand over bin Laden, on December 7 the Taliban stronghold fell and bin Laden escaped to the mountains of Afghanistan, in August 2003 NATO deployed peacekeeping troops to Afghanistan, and on May 2, 2011 bin Laden was killed by U.S. Special Forces during a raid at a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. The Iraq War, from 2003 to 2011, consisted of two phases: a conventionally fought war in March and April 2003, in which a combined force of troops primarily from the US and Great Britain invaded Iraq and defeated Iraqi military forces, and a second phase consisting of a US occupation of Iraq. The war led to the overthrow of Saddam Hussein and his eventual execution, resulted in approximately 4,497 military fatalities, and suppression of militant factions including ISIS continues to this day. On March 20, 2003 the United States and coalition forces began the invasion of Iraq, on April 10 Baghdad fell as coalition forces moved in and ended Saddam Hussein's rule, on December 13 Saddam Hussein was captured, tried, and subsequently executed, on November 7, 2004 the Second Battle of Fallujah began, on November 8 insurgents regrouped and began the Battle of Mosul, on June 17, 2006 the Battle of Ramadi began, on August 18, 2010 American combat operations in Iraq ended as the last combat brigade departed for Kuwait but 50,000 advise-and-consent troops remained, and on December 18, 2011 the last US troops withdrew from Iraq.