Tora Bora

Tora Bora is a cave complex, part of the Spīn Ghar mountain range of eastern Afghanistan. It is situated in the Pachir Aw Agam District of Nangarhar, approximately 50km west of the Khyber Pass and 10km north of the border of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas in Pakistan. Tora Bora was known to be a stronghold location of the Taliban, used by military forces against the Soviet Union during the 1980s. Tora Bora and the surrounding Spīn 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 Mujahedeen.GeologyThe lithological nature of Tora Bora is predominantly metamorphic gneiss and schist.Military baseDuring the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan the cave complex was one of the strongholds of the Taliban and Al-Qaeda, according to Donald Rumsfeld. It was the location of the December 2001 Battle of Tora Bora, and suspected hideout of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. It was reported that in 2007, U.S. intelligence suspected Osama bin Laden planned to meet with top Al Qaeda and Taliban commanders at Tora Bora prior to the launch of a possible attack on Europe or the United States of America.