Battle of Tora Bora (30 nov 2001 anni – 17 dic 2001 anni)

Descrizione:

The Battle of Tora Bora was a military engagement that took place in the cave complex of Tora Bora, eastern Afghanistan, from November 30th to December 17th, 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.

Bin Laden is conventionally believed to have escaped Tora Bora on December 15. As the situation became increasingly precarious due to continued U.S. bombardment and with the Al-Qaeda fighters running low on food supplies, two groups of Al-Qaeda fighters descended the southern slopes toward Pakistan. They bribed local tribes in the area to elude Pakistani blocking forces. Historian Carter Malkasian has hinted that bin Laden may have escaped with one of these two groups.

Peter Bergen's account states that bin Laden had already escaped towards Jalalabad on December 12th during the truce that had been negotiated that day. Bergen says that bin Laden took advantage of the truce that night and used the cover of the darkness to sneak out of the mountain range and make his way to the house of an ally in Jalalabad, where he spent the night. The next day, he rode north on horseback to the heavily forested mountains of Kunar, where he disappeared into a place so remote and obscure that it didn't appear on any maps.

Another theory presented by Sean Naylor involves outside assistance. According to Naylor, a Delta operator observed multiple Mi-17 helicopters, which are used by the Pakistani armed forces, flying near the border at the Agam pass. The helicopters seemed to be making a quick landing in Afghanistan and then immediately returning to Pakistan. This observation led some Delta members to speculate that Pakistan might have been transporting bin Laden to safety.

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