Daesh captures Tora Bora, once bin Laden´s Afghan hideout

JALALABAD: Daesh militants have captured Tora Bora, a mountain cave complex in eastern Afghanistan that was once the hideout of Osama bin Laden, officials said Thursday, despite pressure on the militants from US-led forces.

The militants seized the territory from the Taliban this week after days of heavy fighting, in a show of strength just two months after the US military dropped its largest non-nuclear bomb ever used in combat on a nearby Daesh stronghold.

"Tora Bora has fallen into the hands of IS fighters," government spokesman Attaullah Khogyani told AFP. "Afghan troops last night launched an operation to take it back from IS."

Tora Bora in eastern Nangarhar province was the site of a major US military offensive in late 2001, when Al Qaeda chief bin Laden was believed to be hiding there.

Local tribesmen confirmed to AFP that the Taliban had retreated from large parts of Tora Bora.

"When Daesh fighters launched their operation to seize Tora Bora, the Taliban fled the area and left us alone to protect our women and children," said Juma Khan, a tribesman who fled the area with hundreds of other local families.

The fresh Daesh assault and capture of Tora Bora comes despite a heavy US-backed Afghan offensive against the militants.

The fall of the Tora Bora has also prompted heated discussion in the Afghan parliament, with lawmakers warning the government of growing Daesh activity in eastern Afghanistan.