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Osama bin Laden was a Saudi Arabian-born Islamist terrorist and militant leader who was the founder and first general emir of al-Qaeda. Ideologically a pan-Islamist, he participated in the Afghan jihad against the Soviet Union and supported the activities of the Bosnian mujahideen during the Yugoslav Wars. In the mid-to-late 1990s, Bin Laden masterminded terrorist attacks in several countries which led to him being indicted for international crimes and being sought for by the United States government. Later, Bin Laden oversaw al-Qaeda’s planning and execution of the September 11 attacks in the United States in 2001.
Tora Bora is a cave complex, part of the Spin Ghar mountain range of eastern Afghanistan. It is situated in the Pachir Aw Agam District of Nangarhar, approximately 50 kilometres west of the Khyber Pass and 10 km (6 mi) north of the border of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan. Tora Bora and the surrounding Spin Ghar range had natural caverns formed by streams eating into the limestone, that had later been expanded into a CIA-financed complex built for the Afghan mujahideen. Tora Bora was known to be a stronghold location of the Afghan mujahideen, used by military forces against the Soviet Union during the 1980s.
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Gary Berntsen is an American former Central Intelligence Agency career officer. During his time at the CIA, he served as a Station Chief on three occasions and led several counterterrorism deployments including the United States’ response to the East Africa Embassy bombings and the 9/11 attacks. He was awarded the Distinguished Intelligence Medal in 2000 and the Intelligence Star in 2004.
The Spīn Ghar or Safēd Kōh meaning both White Mountains, or sometimes meaning white mountain range, is a mountain range to the south of the Hindu Kush. It ranges from eastern Afghanistan into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, and forms a natural border between the two areas. Its highest peak is Mount Sikaram on the Afghanistan–Pakistan border, which towers above all surrounding hills to 4,755 m (15,600 ft) above mean sea level. The lower hills are mostly barren and treeless, but pine grows on the main mountains that form the East Afghan montane conifer forests.
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The Battle of Tora Bora was a military engagement that took place in the cave complex of Tora Bora, eastern Afghanistan, from November 30 – December 17, 2001, during the final stages of the United States invasion of Afghanistan. It was launched by the United States and its allies with the objective to capture or kill Osama bin Laden, the founder and leader of the militant organization al-Qaeda. Al-Qaeda and bin Laden were suspected of being responsible for the September 11 attacks three months prior. Tora Bora is located in the Spīn Ghar mountain range near the Khyber Pass. The U.S. stated that al-Qaeda had its headquarters there and that it was bin Laden's location at the time.
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The Battle of Tora Bora in June 2017 was a military engagement for the cave complex of Tora Bora and its surroundings in Afghanistan. Fighting took place between the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant – Khorasan Province (ISIS–K) and forces opposed to it, namely the Taliban, militias formed by the population of the Pachir Aw Agam District, and the Afghan National Army. After heavy clashes ISIS–K forces initially succeeded in capturing Tora Bora from the Taliban on 13–14 June 2017, but Afghan government forces retook the cave complex by 17 June.
References
- ↑ Pepe Escobar (December 7, 2001). "Taking a spin in Tora Bora". Asia Times. Archived from the original on December 21, 2001. Retrieved 2022-02-22.
The Eastern Shura – which comprises the provisional governments of Nangarhar, Laghman, Kunar and Kapisa provinces...
- ↑ Mary Anne Weaver (2005-09-11). "Lost at Tora Bora". The New York Times . Retrieved 2010-05-12.
The last time bin Laden was seen in Jalalabad was the evening of Nov. 13, when he, along with Khalis's son, Mujahid Ullah, and other tribal leaders negotiated a peaceful hand-over of power from the Taliban to a caretaker government. Under its terms, Khalis would take temporary control of the city until the formation of a newly appointed U.S.-backed government. He, of course, made certain that the Eastern Shura, as the government is called, was stacked with men who owed their loyalty to him. Hajji Abdul Qadir, his former military commander, became Nangarhar Province's governor again.
- ↑ Ted Rall (2005-06-08). "Where's Osama? Bush doesn't care. Do we?". Boise Weekly. Archived from the original on 2012-03-10. Retrieved 2010-05-12.
U.S. state-controlled media put bin Laden in a redoubt in the mountains of Tora Bora, a stone's throw west of the Khyber Pass, in mid-November 2001. According to this official account, corrupt Eastern Shura militia let bin Laden and hundreds of other al-Qaeda fighters escape. "There were only 21 bedraggled al-Qaeda fighters who were taken prisoners," writes The Christian Science Monitor.
- ↑ Kenneth Katzman (2003-10-07). "Afghanistan: Current Issues and U.S. Policy" (PDF). Congressional Research Service. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016.
No clear leader, following death of Abdul Qadir; Qadir's son appointed Jalalabad governor after Qadir's death.
- 1 2 3 4 Philip Smucker. "How bin Laden got away: A day-by-day account of how Osama bin Laden eluded the world's most powerful military machine". The Christian Science Monitor . Retrieved 2008-09-08.
- ↑ David Rohde (November 16, 2001). "A NATION CHALLENGED: AFGHANISTAN REDUX; Warlord Rule Is Re-emerging In Some Towns". The New York Times . Retrieved 2008-02-19.
The third arrived from Sorubi, where Ezatullah, a local commander with only one name, has created his own fief.
- ↑ "Battle for Mountains Will Be Tough". Fox News. December 9, 2001. Retrieved 2008-05-20.
- ↑ "Bin Laden Believed to be in Tora Bora". CNN. 2001-11-29.
- ↑ Rone Tempest (October 19, 2001). "Pashtun leaders meet in Pakistan: Exiled commander urges fight against Taliban". San Francisco Chronicle . Retrieved 2008-05-17.
- ↑ Amir Shah (June 6, 2006). "2 Soldiers Killed by Afghan Roadside Bomb". The Washington Post . Retrieved 2008-05-20.
- ↑ "Taliban likely preparing for guerrilla war". St Petersburg Times. October 21, 2001. Retrieved 2008-05-20.
- ↑ Susan B. Glasser (2001-12-11). "Al Qaeda's Forces Flee Higher in Mountains". The Washington Post . p. A01. Archived from the original on January 31, 2013. Retrieved 2010-05-12.
- ↑ OARDEC (2005-11-28). "Summary of Administrative Review Board Proceedings for ISN 948" (PDF). United States Department of Defense. pp. 311–321. Retrieved 2010-05-12.
The weapons I had were for a group of people in the Noorgal government, Gulan, Said Jalal and Haji Kornai. I gave them back these weapons. These three commanders are supporting the American Forces and they are working with them in Jalalabad.
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