Battle of Tora Bora

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Battle of Tora Bora Part of the War in Afghanistan (2001-present) Location of Tora Bora, near the border to the Kurram Agency in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. 34°07′N 70°13′E / 34.117°N 70.217°E / 34.117; 70.217 Date 12-17 December 2001 Location Pachir Wa Agam District, Nangarhar province, Afghanistan Result Indecisive Coalition victory, capture of area by Coalition Forces, failure to kill or capture Osama bin Laden. Belligerents Coalition:   United States,   United Kingdom,   Germany, Northern Alliance Taliban, Al-Qaeda Commanders and leaders Tommy Franks, Bismillah Khan Osama bin Laden Strength ~50 Members of U.S. 1st SFOD-D; others from CIA SAD, 5th Special Forces Group, 160th SOAR, U.K. 22 SAS, SBS, other coalition forces (aircraft); ~100-1000 Northern Alliance fighters ~300-1000 Casualties and losses Coalition: None Northern Alliance : Unknown 200 killed

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The Battle of Tora Bora was a military engagement that took place in Afghanistan in December 2001, during the opening stages of the war in that country launched following the 9/11 attacks on the United States. The U.S. and its allies believed that al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was hiding in the rugged mountains at Tora Bora, but despite overrunning the Taliban and al-Qaeda positions they failed to kill or capture him. It has been said that at the end of the battle bin Laden and his forces escaped by mule to Pakistan.

Contents [hide] 1 Background 2 The battle 3 Fury's account 4 Guantanamo captives' accounts of the battle 5 Aftermath 6 See also 7 Further references and reading 8 References

[edit] Background

Tora Bora (Pashto: تورا بورا, “black dust”) is a cave complex situated in the White Mountains (Safed Koh) of eastern Afghanistan, near the Khyber Pass.

In 2001, it was suspected to be in use by al-Qaeda and the location of bin Laden's headquarters, variously described as a multi-storied cave complex harnessing hydroelectric power from mountain streams, or a lower-rise dwelling with hotel-like corridors capable of sheltering more than 1,000. It was also said to contain a large cache of ammunition, such as missiles left over from the 1980s.

The outposts in use in 2001 were originally built by extending and shoring up natural caves, with the assistance of the CIA in the early 1980s (Operation Cyclone) for use by mujahideen during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, but several may date back to much earlier periods, as the difficult terrain has been used by tribal warriors fighting foreign invaders since ancestral times.

[edit] The battle

Air strikes on Tora Bora

At the end of the invasion of Afghanistan, al-QaedaAnti-Taliban tribal militia continued a steady advance through the difficult terrain, backed by air strikes guided in by U.S. and British Special Forces. Facing defeat and reluctant to fight fellow Muslims, al-Qaeda forces negotiated a truce with a local militia commander to give them time to surrender their weapons. In retrospect, however, many believe that the truce was a ruse to allow important al-Qaeda figures, including Osama bin Laden, to escape^{[citation needed]}. On December 12, the fighting flared again, possibly initiated by a rear guard buying time for the main force's escape through the White Mountains into the tribal areas of Pakistan. Once again, tribal forces backed by U.S. special operations troops and air support pressed ahead against fortified al-Qaeda positions in caves and bunkers scattered throughout the mountainous region. Twelve British SBS commandos, and one British Royal Signals Specialist from 63 Signals squadron now known as 18SFUK, accompanied the U.S. special operations forces in the attack on the cave complex at Tora Bora. fighters were still holding out in the mountains of the Tora Bora region.

In August 2008, the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported that Special Forces Operators of the German KSK took part in the battle as well. They were purportedly responsible for the protection of the flanks in the Tora Bora mountains and conducted reconnaissance missions.^[1]

As the Taliban teetered on the brink of losing their last bastion, the U.S. focus increased on the Tora Bora. Local tribal militias, numbering over 2,000 strong and paid and organized by Special Forces and CIA SAD paramilitary operations officers, continued to mass for an attack as heavy bombing continued of suspected al-Qaeda positions. 100–200 civilians were reported killed when 25 bombs struck a village at the foot of the Tora Bora and White Mountains region.

On December 3, a group of 20 U.S. commandos was inserted by helicopter to support the operation. On December 5, Afghan militia wrested control of the low ground below the mountain caves from al-Qaeda fighters and set up tank positions to blast enemy forces. The al-Qaeda fighters withdrew with mortars, rocket launchers, and assault rifles to higher fortified positions and dug in for the battle. The CIA paramiltary officers inserted with a highly trained Afghan force and were engaged by friendly fire, but stayed in the fight despite taking significant casualties.^[2]

By December 17, the last cave complex had been taken and their defenders overrun. No massive bunkers were found, only small outposts and a few minor training camps.^[3]

A search of the area by U.S. forces continued into January, but no sign of bin Laden or the al-Qaeda leadership emerged. Former CIA officer Gary Berntsen, who led the CIA team (consisting primarily of CIA Paramilitary Officers from Special Activities Division) in Afghanistan that was tasked with locating Osama bin Laden, claims in his 2005 book Jawbreaker that he and his team had pinpointed the location of Osama bin Laden. Also according to Berntsen, a number of al-Qaeda detainees later confirmed that bin Laden had escaped Tora Bora into Pakistan via an easterly route through snow covered mountains to the area of Parachinar, Pakistan. He also claims that bin Laden could have been captured if United States Central Command had committed the troops that Berntsen had requested. Former CIA officer Gary Schroen concurs with this view^[4] and Pentagon documents are suggestive.^[5]

In an October 2004 opinion article in The New York Times, Gen. Tommy Franks wrote, "We don't know to this day whether Mr. bin Laden was at Tora Bora in December 2001. Some intelligence sources said he was; others indicated he was in Pakistan at the time...Tora Bora was teeming with Taliban and Qaeda operatives ... but Mr. bin Laden was never within our grasp." Franks, who retired in 2003, was the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan at the time. The last time Osama bin Laden was overheard on the VHF radio was on December 14, 2001. In 2008 Andy McNab, the pseudonym of a former SAS trooper echoed the claims of Berntsen, claiming that the Coalition were, "within a whisker" of capturing bin Laden at Tora Bora.

Many enemy fighters made their escape in the rough terrain and slipped away into the tribal areas of Pakistan to the south and east. It is estimated that around 200 of the al-Qaeda fighters were killed during the battle, along with an unknown number of anti-Taliban tribal fighters. No coalition deaths were reported.