Taliban Fighters Back in Caves Of Tora Bora

KABUL, Afghanistan — Al Qaeda-backed insurgents have opened a new front on the eastern border of Afghanistan, reoccupying the Tora Bora cave complex from which Osama bin Laden escaped the closing net of American forces in 2001.

The Tora Bora Front, as Taliban propaganda calls it, borders the province of Nangahar and has been active for around three weeks. The complex of deep caves, which proved impervious to American bombing in 2001, sits on an infiltration route from the Spin Ghar mountains between Nangahar province and Pakistan's lawless Tribal Areas, where bin Laden is still thought to be hiding.

Western officials and local government authorities confirm that Taliban insurgents backed by Al Qaeda have reoccupied the cave complex at Tora Bora. They believe one of the group's leaders could be Amin ul-Haq, a close associate of Mr. bin Laden. Estimates of the Tora Bora force by local Afghan officials put the number in the base at 200–250, including Arab, Chechen, and Pakistani fighters.