In March 1979, an anti-Communist uprising in Herat, left 25,000 civilian deaths. Between 1978 and 1992, communist forces in Herat city fought resistance forces holding the countryside. In 1995 the area came under the control of Pashtuns of the Taliban movement. After the United States' invasion of Afghanistan, on November 12, 2001, it was liberated from the Taliban by the Northern Alliance. These days, unlike other places in Afghanistan, Herat is safer.