US drops 'mother of all bombs' on Islamic State in Afghanistan

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 Islamic State militants, the military said.

It was the first time the United States has used this size of bomb in a conflict. It was dropped from a MC-130 aircraft in the Achin district of Nangarhar province, close to the border with Pakistan, Pentagon spokesman Adam Stump said.

Also known as the "mother of all bombs," the GBU-43 is a 21,600 pound (9,797 kg) GPS-guided munition and was first tested in March 2003, just days before the start of the Iraq war.

General John Nicholson, the head of U.S. and international forces in Afghanistan, said the bomb was used against caves and bunkers housing fighters of the Islamic State in Afghanistan, also known as ISIS-K.

"This is the right munition to reduce these obstacles and maintain the momentum of our offensive against ISIS-K," Nicholson said in a statement.
It was not immediately clear how much damage the bomb did.

US President Donald Trump said, "we are so proud of our military. I authorised the military. They have been so successful. If you look at what has happened in the past eight weeks when compared to the past eight years tremendous efforts have been made. This was a successful mission."

.@USFOR_A #US Forces targets ISIS-K stronghold, drops GBU-43 #MOAB bomb on #ISIS pic.twitter.com/GYjyMLiqUS

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) April 13, 2017

At his daily news conference, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said the bomb was dropped at around 7 pm local time in Afghanistan.

"The GBU-43 is a large, powerful and accurately delivered weapon. We targeted a system of tunnels and caves that ISIS fighters used to move around freely, making it easier for them to target US military advisers and Afghan forces in the area," Spicer said.

"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. The US took all precautions necessary to prevent civilian casualties and collateral damage as a result of the operation," he said.

The strike is part of the ongoing efforts to defeat ISIS-K in Afghanistan, the US Central Command (USCENTCOM) said.

The strike was designed to minimise the risk to Afghan and US Forces conducting clearing operations in the area while maximising the destruction of ISIS-K fighters and facilities.