The Battle of Tora Bora in June 2017 was a military engagement for the cave complex of Tora Bora and its surroundings in Afghanistan. Fighting took place between the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant – Khorasan Province (ISIL-K) and forces opposed to it, namely the Taliban, militias formed by the population of the Pachir Aw Agam District, and the Afghan National Army. After heavy clashes ISIL-K forces initially succeeded in capturing Tora Bora from the Taliban on 13–14 June 2017, but Afghan government forces retook the cave complex by 17 June.
Background
Although Tora Bora, former stronghold of Osama bin Laden, was cleared of Taliban forces during a United States-led operation in 2001, the militant group soon retook the mountain stronghold. Subsequently, Tora Bora came to function as an important base for the Taliban insurgency, while the area around it mostly fell under the group's influence. The Taliban's control over much of Nangarhar Province's hinterland was challenged upon the foundation of ISIL-K in 2015, however, and the two militant organizations began a brutal conflict for dominance. Meanwhile, the Afghan government's control in these remote areas was mostly limited to some outposts and population centers. Nevertheless, pro-government self-defense groups and tribal militias did emerge to fight against all insurgent groups in the area.
The Pachir Aw Agam District, where Tora Bora is located, was home to both Taliban as well as government followers, and thus quickly became a target for ISIL-K, which began to terrorize the district's population through killings, abductions, raids and looting. As result, the locals became extremely hostile and opposed to ISIL-K. On 13 April 2017, the United States bombed and largely destroyed the cave systems in Achin District that were used by ISIL-K as main base. As result, the group was deprived of its sanctuary; according to Afghan politician and former warlord Hazrat Ali, this caused ISIL-K to seek a new refuge. Probably due to its strategic location the Islamic State militants chose Tora Bora as prospective new headquarters, and moved to capture it from the Taliban.
Battle
ISIL-K capture of Tora Bora
ISIL-K began its offensive to capture the mountain stronghold on 6 June with allegedly up to 1,000 militants. The head of the Afghan National Directorate of Security in Nangarhar Province accused Pakistan of supporting the ISIL-K offensive. After the Islamic State fighters began to assault the Taliban positions, local militias joined the fight against ISIL-K. Although they traditionally supported the government and opposed the Taliban, these militias saw ISIL-K as a greater threat due to the group's brutal reputation. It remains unclear, however, whether the militias directly aided the Taliban or operated separately. In consequence of the resulting clashes, about 500 families were displaced. After three days of heavy fighting in the mountains, the first ISIL-K assault was beaten back by the Taliban and pro-government forces. Suffering "dozens" of casualties, the attackers were forced to scatter and retreat.
Despite this setback, ISIL-K soon regrouped and renewed their offensive. Calls by the locals for the government to provide aid to them went unheeded, and on late 13 June the Islamic State fighters eventually managed to capture much territory around Tora Bora after fierce fighting against both the local militias and the Taliban. On early 14 June, the Taliban defenses at the mountain stronghold completely collapsed, and the group's fighters fled from the area. Without the Taliban forces to support them, the local militias of Tora Bora were no longer able to hold their positions and also retreated, taking their families with them. Though both the Taliban as well as some pro-government sources denied that all of Tora Bora had fallen to ISIL-K, and maintained that Taliban elements still held out in the region, local villagers as well as the Afghan military reported that the Islamic State forces had set up their flag and heavy artillery on the mountains over Tora Bora.