TORA BORA, Afghanistan/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. and Afghan forces destroyed the last bastion of the al Qaeda organization in Afghanistan on Sunday but did not find Osama bin Laden, the Saudi-born militant who stands accused of masterminding the September 11 attacks on the United States.
U.S. forces and their allies were scouring the country for the man President George W. Bush wants dead or alive and top officials vowed to catch him sooner or later.
Backed by overwhelming U.S. air power and British and American commandos on the ground, Afghan fighters overran the mountain redoubt of Tora Bora which is riddled with caves and tunnels, where hundreds of bin Laden's toughest al Qaeda loyalists made their last stand.
"We've destroyed al Qaeda in Afghanistan and we have ended the role of Afghanistan as a haven for terrorist activity," said U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell on NBC's "Meet the Press."
He said bin Laden's effectiveness in Afghanistan had been destroyed but the man himself remained at large.
National security adviser Condoleezza Rice said bin Laden was on the run.