© United States Department of Defence / Wikipedia
The US military has used its GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast Bomb (MOAB), nicknamed "the mother of all bombs," for the first time in combat. The US Air Force used it in Afghanistan to target Islamic State tunnels and personnel.
The 21,000-pound (9,525 kg) bomb was dropped in the Achin district of the Nangarhar province in eastern Afghanistan.
The Pentagon has confirmed the use of the MOAB, and is currently assessing damage. General John Nicholson, commander of US forces in Afghanistan, signed off on its use, CNN reported. Authority was also sought from General Joseph Votel, commander of US Central Command (CENTCOM).
Comment: Update April 14: US forces in Afghanistan have
released video footage of the airstrike showing the devastation from the 11-ton yield bomb:
Update: The
Afghan Defense Ministry has said that the bomb has killed up to 36 terrorists, with no deaths of civilians:
"No civilian has been hurt and only the base, which Daesh used to launch attacks in other parts of the province, was destroyed," Dawlat Waziri, a spokesman for the Afghan ministry, said.
The Afghan report could not be independently verified, Reuters noted.
IS took to the internet on Friday, denying it had suffered any casualties from the giant bomb dropped by the Americans, AFP reported.
Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai condemned the use of the MOAB on his country's soil.
"This is not the war on terror, but the inhuman and most brutal misuse of our country as a testing ground for new and dangerous weapons," he said in a tweet.
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