US, Afghan troops attack old Laden hideout

US and Afghan troops were pressing an assault against al-Qaeda and Taliban positions in the Tora Bora mountains of eastern Afghanistan, the last known hiding place of Osama bin Laden.

The US military announced the air and ground attack on militant positions in the mountain range near the Pakistani border on Wednesday but they did not say how long the offensive would last.

The operation was launched against carefully targeted militant positions, US military spokeswoman Captain Vanessa Bowman told AFP.

8220;US and Afghan forces engaged al-Qaeda and other violent extremist fighters in eastern Afghanistan during a combined arms assault using precision munitions,8221; Bowman added in a statement.