Tora Bora

Coordinates: 34°07′00″N 70°13′00″E / 34.116667°N 70.216667°E / 34.116667; 70.216667

Tora Bora (Pashto: توره بوړه‎, Black Cave), known locally as Spīn Ghar (Pashto: سپین غر‎, White Mountain), is a cave complex, part of the White Mountains (Safēd Kōh) of eastern Afghanistan. It is situated in the Pachir Aw Agam District of Nangarhar, approximately 50 km (31 mi) west of the Khyber Pass and 10 km (6.2 mi) 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 Safēd Kōh range had natural caverns formed by streams eating into the limestone.

Geology

The lithological nature of Tora Bora is predominantly metamorphic gneiss and schist.

Military base

The cave complex was, during the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, according to Donald Rumsfeld, one of the strongholds of the Taliban and Al-Qaeda. As the suspected hideout of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, it was the location of the December 2001 Battle of Tora Bora. It was reported that in 2007, U.S.A. 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 to Europe or the United States of America.