A US Senate report says US forces had Osama Bin Laden "within their grasp" in Afghanistan in late 2001

The US administration refused troop reinforcement, allowing the Al Qaeda leader to "walk unmolested" into Pakistan's mountainous tribal areas, the BBC reports.

It is highly critical of officials in former US President George W Bush's administration and military commanders at the time.

The report comes as President Barack Obama prepares to announce a long-awaited decision on sending extra tens of thousands of troops to Afghanistan, requested by his handpicked commander on the ground.

It says that while the "vast array of American military power... was kept on the sidelines", US commanders "chose to rely on air strikes and untrained Afghan militias" to pursue Bin Laden in Tora Bora.

"On or around 16 December [2001], two days after writing his will, Bin Laden and an entourage of bodyguards walked unmolested out of Tora Bora and disappeared into Pakistan's unregulated tribal area," the report says.

The report acknowledges that removing Bin Laden "would not have eliminated the worldwide extremist threat".

But it adds that "the decisions that opened the door for his escape to Pakistan allowed Bin Laden to emerge as a potent symbolic figure who continues to attract a steady flow of money and inspire fanatics worldwide".

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