US Drops Largest
Non-nuclear Bomb on IS Complex in Afghanistan
Last Updated: April 13,
2017 6:30 PM
VOA News
A Massive Ordnance Air
Blast (MOAB) weapon is prepared for testing at the Eglin Air Force Armament
Center on March 11, 2003.
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A U.S. warplane dropped
the largest bomb in America's arsenal — a 10,000-kilogram device known as
"the mother of all bombs" — on an Islamic State bunker complex in
northeastern Afghanistan on Thursday.
No details of damage or
possible casualties from the massive blast in Nangarhar Province are available.
The Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB) bomb, developed more than a decade ago,
had never been used in combat. A spokesman for Nangarhar's governor, Attaullah
Khoghyani, told VOA that local officials had not been told of the bomb plans in
advance.
From Washington, U.S.
President Donald Trump indicated the military strike against IS extremists had
his full approval. He dodged a question about the mission's goal, but hinted it
may have been intended to send a forceful message to North Korea, which is
rumored to be planning another nuclear weapons test shortly.
"I don't know if this
sends a message [to North Korea]. It doesn't make any difference if it does or
not," Trump told reporters Thursday at the White House. "North Korea
is a problem. The problem will be taken care of."
The Pentagon said in a
statement that a GBU-43 bomb — its formal military designation — was dropped
earlier in the day on an IS tunnel complex in the Achin district of Nangarhar
province, near the border with Pakistan.
Pentagon spokesman Adam
Stump said it was the first use of the 11-ton bomb in a combat situation. The
"mother of all bombs" nickname is derived from the bomb's alternate
name, a Massive Ordnance Air Blast device.
"The airstrike was
designed to support the efforts of the ANSF [Afghan National Security Forces]
and U.S. forces as well as minimize the risk to ANSF and the U.S. forces,"
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani's office tweeted Thursday. "Precautions were
taken to avoid civilian casualties with this airstrike."
Trump said the airstrike
in Afghanistan was "another successful event," and noted, "We
are so proud of our military."
A short time earlier,
White House spokesman Sean Spicer told reporters the mission against the IS
complex was necessary because the U.S. and its allies "must deny them
operational space, which we did."
FILE - The GBU-43/B, also
known as the Massive Ordnance Air Blast, is launched successfully from a
MC-130E Combat Talon I aircraft during a test at Eglain Air Force Base,
Florida, Nov. 21, 2003, in this handout photo provided April 13, 2017.
FILE - The GBU-43/B, also
known as the Massive Ordnance Air Blast, is launched successfully from a
MC-130E Combat Talon I aircraft during a test at Eglain Air Force Base,
Florida, Nov. 21, 2003, in this handout photo provided April 13, 2017.
General John Nicholson,
commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, said IS extremists in Afghanistan have
been increasing their use of tunnels and underground bunkers to "thicken
their defense," and added: "This is the right munition to reduce
these obstacles and maintain the momentum of our offensive."
References to North Korea
that arose in connection with the Afghan bombing were due to increasing
tensions in the area around the reclusive communist state, since there have
been signs Pyongyang is preparing to mark an important national anniversary in
the coming days — possibly with a long-rumored sixth test of one of its nuclear
warheads.
Meanwhile, thousands of
U.S. and South Korean troops and heavy weaponry have been mobilized for their
largest-ever joint military exercise.
North Korea has threatened
war if it sees signs of "aggression" south of the Demilitarized Zone
that divides the two Koreas. Trump
has warned that the U.S. will no longer tolerate any provocative activity by
Pyongyang — presumably by imposing even tougher economic sanctions, but
comments by the president and other senior officials have left open the
possibility of more direct confrontation.
China, North Korea's only staunch ally, has said tension
in the region cannot be de-escalated militarily and has urged Pyongyang to halt
its nuclear program in exchange for Chinese protection.
