Tribal elders agreed to return the pre-Taleban governor Haji Qadeer to power after an internal power struggle following the defeat of the Taleban by local warlords.
Jalalabad is the capital of the Nangahar province that controls the main road between Kabul and Khyber Pass that starts at the border with Pakistan.
Opposition commanders say they now control the cave complex at Tora Bora south of the city, where a rump of al-Qaeda troops mounted a last stand against their forces.
Hundreds of al-Qaeda fighters are reported to have fled into Pakistan - but the whereabouts of Osama Bin Laden, who was rumoured to be in the area - remain a mystery.
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