Tora Bora is a mountainous region in southern
Afghanistan,
south west of
Jalalabad near the
Pakistan border, which is
difficult to reach by land. It contains a cave fortress constructed
with the help of the
United States for use by the
mujahedin against the
Soviet Union in the 1980s. It was described in newspapers as a
suitable lair for a villain out of the
James Bond movies:
variously as a multi-storeyed cave complex harnessing hydroelectric
power from mountain streams, or a lower-rise dwelling with hotel-like
corridors capable of sheltering more than 1000.
In 2001 it was in use by al-Qaeda and was suspected to be the
headquarters of Osama bin Laden. The Northern Alliance and
U.S. fought to capture it in December 2001.
Further reading:
- Matthew Forney, Inside the Tora Bora Caves, Time (Dec. 11, 2001)
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