US drops ‘Mother of All Bombs’ on Daesh hideouts in Afghanistan

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WASHINGTON: The United States dropped a massive GBU-43 bomb, the largest non-nuclear bomb it has ever used in combat, in eastern Afghanistan on Thursday against a series of caves used by Daesh militants, the military said. It was the first time the United States has used this size of a bomb in a conflict.Also known as the ‘Mother of All Bombs’, the GBU-43 was dropped from

Also known as the ‘Mother of All Bombs’, the GBU-43 was dropped from an MC-130 aircraft in the Achin district of Nangarhar province, close to the border with Pakistan, Pentagon spokesman Adam Stump said.

General John Nicholson, the head of US and international forces in Afghanistan, said the bomb was used against caves and bunkers housing fighters of Daesh in Afghanistan. It was not immediately clear how much damage the device did.

White House spokesman Sean Spicer opened his daily news briefing speaking about the use of the bomb and said, “We targeted a system of tunnels and caves that ISIS [Da’ish] fighters used to move around freely, making it easier for them to target US military advisers and Afghan forces in the area.”

Last week, a US soldier was killed in the same district as the bomb was dropped while conducting operations against Daesh.

“The United States takes the fight against ISIS very seriously and in order to defeat the group, we must deny them operational space, which we did,” Spicer said. He said the bomb was used at around 7 pm local time and described the device as “a large, powerful and accurately delivered weapon.” The United States took “all precautions necessary to prevent civilian casualties and collateral damage,” he said.

President Donald Trump touted the bombing as evidence of a more muscular US foreign policy since he took office in January after eight years of President Barack Obama.

“If you look at what’s happened over the last eight weeks and compare that really to what’s happened over the last eight years, you’ll see that there’s a tremendous difference,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Thursday.

US officials say intelligence suggests Daesh is based overwhelmingly in Nangarhar and neighbouring Kunar province. Estimates of its strength in Afghanistan vary. US officials have said they believe the movement has only 700 fighters but Afghan officials estimate it has about 1,500.

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1 COMMENT

  1. Hope some similar toys be dropped in J&k to clean it once for all

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