Afghanistan says

massive US bomb
killed 36 militants
By: Amir Shah - @inquirerdotnet
Associated Press / 01:31 AM April 15, 2017

This undated photo provided by Eglin Air Force Base shows a GBU-
43B, or massive ordnance air blast weapon or MOAB, the U.S.
militarys largest non-nuclear bomb, which contains 11 tons of
explosives. The Pentagon said U.S. forces in Afghanistan dropped a
GBU-43B on an Islamic State of Iraq and Syria target in Afghanistan
on Thursday, April 13, 2017, in what a Pentagon spokesman said was
the first-ever combat use of the bomb. (Eglin Air Force Base via AP)

KABUL, Afghanistan The biggest non-nuclear bomb ever dropped in

combat by the US military killed 36 militants in eastern Afghanistan,
officials said Friday, and villagers in the remote, mountainous area
described being terrified by the earsplitting blast.

The strike using the Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb, or MOAB, was
carried out Thursday morning against an Islamic State group tunnel
complex carved in the mountains that Afghan forces have tried to
assault repeatedly in recent weeks in fierce fighting in Nangarhar
province, Afghan officials said.

US and Afghan forces have been battling the Taliban insurgency for
more than 15 years. But the US military brought out the biggest
conventional bomb in its arsenal for the first time to hit the Islamic
State, which has a far smaller but growing presence in Afghanistan.
That apparently reflects President Donald Trumps vow for a more
aggressive campaign against the group.
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The bomb known officially as a GBU-43B but nicknamed the

mother of all bombs unleashes 11 tons of explosives. Pentagon
video showed the bomb striking a mountainside overlooking a river
valley with a giant blast that overwhelms the landscape and sent up
a massive column of black smoke. Agricultural terraces are visible in
the footage, but no population centers.

The Afghan Defense Ministry said in a statement that the bomb

destroyed several IS caves and ammunition caches.

Gen. Daulat Waziri, a ministry spokesman, said 36 IS fighters were

killed, and that the death toll could likely rise. He said Afghan forces
were at the tunnel complex assessing the damage.
The Islamic State groups Aamaq news agency denied that any of its
fighters were killed or wounded, citing a source within the group.

Afghan commandos arrive at Pandola village near the site of a US

bombing in the Achin district of Jalalabad, east of Kabul, Afghanistan,
Friday, April 14, 2017. US forces in Afghanistan on Thursday struck an
Islamic State tunnel complex in eastern Afghanistan with the largest
non-nuclear weapon every used in combat by the US military,
Pentagon officials said. (Photo by RAHMAT GUL / AP)

Waziri said the bombing was necessary because the complex was
extremely hard to penetrate, with some tunnels as deep as 40
meters (over 130 feet). He called it a strong position, with troops
attacking it four times without advancing, adding that the complex
was full of mines.

This was the right weapon for the right target, said US Gen. John W.
Nicholson, NATO commander in Afghanistan, at a news conference.
He added that there were no reports of civilian casualties.
Nicholson said the bomb was intended to eliminate the militants
sanctuary in southern Nangarhar, and this weapon was very
effective in that use.

The office of President Ashraf Ghani said there was close

coordination between the U.S. military and the Afghan government
over the operation, and they were careful to prevent any civilian
casualties.
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But the massive blast still terrified villagers 20 miles away across the
border in Pakistan.

Pakistani villagers living near the frontier said the explosion was so
loud they thought a bomb had been dropped in their village by U.S.
warplanes targeting militants in Pakistan.

I was sleeping when we heard a loud explosion. It was an

earsplitting blast, said Shah Wali, 46, who lives in the village of Goor
Gari, 15 kilometers (9 miles) from the border with Nangarhar. I
jumped from my bed and came out of my home to see what has gone
wrong in our village.

Dozens of other villagers also came out of their homes, Wali said. He
later went near the border, where he met with other residents. He
said he could see smoke in the sky.

The whole house was shaking, said Mufti Khan of Achin district in
Nangarhar. When I came out of my house, I saw a large fire and the
whole area was burning.

Another Achin resident, Mohammad Hakim, approved of the strike.

We are very happy, and these kinds of bombs should be used in

future as well, so Daesh is rooted out from here, he said, using the
Arabic acronym for the Islamic State group.
They killed our women, youths and elders, sitting them on mines,
Hakim added. We also ask the Kabul government to use even
stronger weapons against them.

The US estimates 600-800 IS fighters are in Afghanistan, mostly in

Nangarhar. The US has concentrated on fighting them while also
supporting Afghan forces against the Taliban.

Trump called Thursdays operation a very, very successful mission.

I want a hundred times more bombings on this group, said Hakim

Khan, a 50-year-old a resident of Achin.

Inamullah Meyakhil, spokesman for the central hospital in eastern

Nangarhar province, said no dead or wounded had been brought to
the facility from the attack.

District Gov. Ismail Shinwari added that there was no civilian property
near the location of the airstrike.

The Site Intelligence Group, which tracks extremist organizations,

reported Friday on a statement from the Afghan Taliban that
condemned the US for its terrorist attack.

The statement said it is the responsibility of Afghans, not the US, to

remove the Islamic State group from the country. The two militant
movements are rivals.

The US has more than 8,000 troops in Afghanistan, training local

forces and conducting counterterrorism operations. In the past year,
they have largely concentrated on thwarting a surge of attacks by
the Taliban, who have captured key districts, such as Helmand
province, which US and British troops had fought bitterly to return to
the government.

***
Associated Press writers Anwarullah Khan in Khar, Pakistan, Munir
Ahmed in Islamabad, Robert Burns in Washington and Maamoun
Youssef in Cairo contributed.

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