Posted on 07/05/2007 10:51:21 AM PDT by HAL9000
The Tora Bora cave complex, an entrenched network of caves and tunnels carved into the Safed Koh mountain range on the Nangarhar-Pakistan border, sustained a withering barrage of Coalition air strikes over the last 24 hours. A band of ‘Arab, Chechen and Pakistani’ militants numbering close to 300 allegedly reoccupied the infamous mountain redoubt earlier last month. The group is thought to be loyal to the late Yonuis Kahlis’s son, Anwar ul-Haq Mujahid who leads a Taliban splinter group called Tora Bora Nizami Mahaz, or the Tora Bora Military Front (TBMF).The fortified positions and close proximity to Pakistan’s unstable western states offers militants prime fighting positions and excellent access to various escape routes. It is widely believed that Usama Bin Laden and many of al Qaeda’s top leaders withstood the Coalition’s protracted aerial bombardment against them here in December of 2001. Reports indicate Bin Laden and his close aides successfully escaped into western Pakistan where they are still thought to be hiding.
In Monday’s assault, the Coalition used a ‘precision air strike against an al Qaeda safe house in Nangarhar province.’
"The forces struck the safehouse in the remote Pachir Wa Agam district based on credible information that militants and facilitators for Al Qaeda foreign fighters were gathered there," said a Coalition spokesman according to an AFP report. The mountainous southern stretches of the Pachir Wa Agam and Khogyani district of Nangarhar make up what is known as the Tora Bora fortress.
An Afghan government spokesman claimed nearly 50 anti-government forces were killed during the attack, a claim not able to be verified by the Coalition as battlefield assessments were not immediately available. The spokesman went on to say dozens of Taliban fighters and their local commander, Mullah Zeyarat Gul, crossed into Nangarhar from Pakistan which prompted local villagers to ‘force them out of their area.’ It was after the militants were flushed out the villagers informed local security forces about the influx of fighters that had streamed in from Pakistan. A TBMF spokesman has confirmed the air strikes took place to the AFP but denied his group sustained any casualties.
The areas that make up the cave complex will likely be the scene of further fighting as Afghan and Coalition forces make their presence felt and continue the hunt for the remaining holed up militants.
The TBMF has carried out a series of roadside bombs, ambushes and some suicide bomb attacks in Nangarhar province since the announcement of their formation in The group’s highest profile attack came in early March when they rammed a suicide car bomber into a US Marine convoy in Nangarhar province. The ensuing ambush and hasty US pullback left over 16 civilians dead and scores wounded. Early investigations indicated the Marines shot dead a number of unarmed civilians as they exited the ambush site. Within weeks the Marine unit was recalled back to the United States pending a further investigation into whether or not the Marines reaction were criminal.
Around the same time a counter-terrorism operation launched in a village east of Jalalabad netted six TBMF cell members including an expert bomb-maker.
HEY HAL I think that remains of where Bin Laden is at I think he is dead
We were crazy to let them return to Tora Bora.
Crazy like a fox.
Hopefully we installed listening devices and then let them return.
***I hope the skeleton of bin laden is crumbling quicker from the fresh strikes.......***
I hope there’s enough dust left of it to identify its DNA.
installed listening devices and then let them return
—
tee hee hee
you get an extra biscuit for that one, pup. ;-)
gas the friggin caves already...
You bet! In an era where Bad Guys arrive and then melt into the crowd, isn’t it great to get a whole bunch of them in one spot and bomb the cr@p out of them! Happy 4th!
They’ll want to look around after the bombardment since one of the shells might have excavated OBL’s bones.
“OK, that’s the last time we are going to bomb those caves. We promise. You can move back now and clean it all up again.”
I would have paid to watch those fireworks.
“I hope there’s enough dust left of it to identify its DNA.”
I have been saying for years he is dead with a few million pounds of cave roof on him. I cannot believe a man like him wit his ego would go this long without a video to rub it in our faces. I just don’t believe he is alive.
Right. The last time the Taliban/AQ mutts occupied Tora Bora, they had their asses handed to them by a bunch of Northern Alliance tribal irregulars and US Special Forces with air support. How did that turn out again?
The Taliban announced a few weeks ago that they were returning to Tora Bora and damned if they didn't and damned if we didn't let them.
Tora Bora is a place of retreat with nowhere to go but back to Pakistan, if they can make it out. Lessons learned and all that.
This is good news too.
We should pre-wire it and go back there every couple of years and set off the hidden charges.
Another “Silencing action”....I like it!
HMMMMMMMMMMM.
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