US drops 'Mother Of All Bombs' in Afghanistan

In this photograph taken on April 11, 2017, smoke rises after an air strike by US aircraft on positions during an ongoing an operation against Daesh militants in the Achin district of Afghanistan's Nangarhar province. An American special forces soldier has been killed while conducting operations against the Daesh group in Afghanistan, the US military said. The US-backed Afghan military has vowed to wipe out the group in its strongholds in the eastern province of Nangarhar as Daesh challenges the more powerful Taliban on its own turf. (AFP)

In this photograph taken on April 11, 2017, US soldiers take up positions during an ongoing an operation against Daesh militants in Achin district of Nangarhar province. An American special forces soldier has been killed while conducting operations against the Daesh group in Afghanistan, the US military said. The US-backed Afghan military has vowed to wipe out the group in its strongholds in the eastern province of Nangarhar as Daesh challenges the more powerful Taliban on its own turf. (AFP)

April 11, 2017, an Afghan security force personnel fires during an ongoing an operation against Daesh militants in the Achin district of Nangarhar province. An American special forces soldier has been killed while conducting operations against the Daesh group in Afghanistan, the US military said. The US-backed Afghan military has vowed to wipe out the group in its strongholds in the eastern province of Nangarhar as Daesh challenges the more powerful Taliban on its own turf. (AFP)

In this photograph taken on April 11, 2017, US soldiers look on during an ongoing an operation against Daesh militants in the Achin district of Nangarhar province. An American special forces soldier has been killed while conducting operations against the Daesh group in Afghanistan, the US military said. The US-backed Afghan military has vowed to wipe out the group in its strongholds in the eastern province of Nangarhar as Daesh challenges the more powerful Taliban on its own turf. (AFP)

WASHINGTON: US forces in Afghanistan on Thursday struck a Daesh (Islamic State) tunnel complex in eastern Afghanistan with “the mother of all bombs,” the largest non-nuclear weapon every used in combat by the US military, Pentagon officials said.
The bomb, known officially as a GBU-43B, or massive ordnance air blast weapon, unleashes 11 tons of explosives. When it was developed in the early 2000s the Pentagon did a formal review of legal justification for its combat use.
The US military headquarters in Kabul said in a statement that the bomb was dropped at 7:32 p.m. local time Thursday on a tunnel complex in Achin district of Nangarhar province, where the Afghan affiliate of the Daesh group has been operating.
The target was close to the Pakistani border.
Adam Stump, a Pentagon spokesman, said the bomb was dropped from a US Air Force MC-130 transport, which he said had been brought to Afghanistan “some time ago” for potential use.
Army Gen. John W. Nicholson, commander of US forces in Afghanistan, said in a written statement that the strike was designed to minimize the risk to Afghan and US forces conducting clearing operations in the Achin area “while maximizing the destruction” of Daesh fighters and facilities. He said Daesh has been using improvised explosive devices, bunkers and tunnels to strengthen its defenses.
“This is the right munition to reduce these obstacles and maintain the momentum of our offensive against ISIS-K,” he added, using the US military’s acronym for the Daesh affiliate.