‘Mother of all bombs’ strikes Afghanistan

U.S. blasts Afghan site with its largest non-nuclear device

The U.S. dropped the most powerful non-nuclear bomb in its arsenal Thursday on a cave and tunnel complex allegedly used by Islamic State fighters in eastern Afghanistan, a stark reminder of a U.S. war now in its 16th year. The bomb, called the Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB), is also known as the “mother of all bombs.” But its use was more symbolic than tactical.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. military dropped the most powerful non-nuclear bomb in its arsenal Thursday on a cave and tunnel complex that it said was used by Islamic State fighters in eastern Afghanistan, a stark reminder of a U.S. war now in its 16th year.

The behemoth bomb, officially called the Massive Ordnance Air Blast, or MOAB, is known as the “mother of all bombs.” It is 30 feet long, weighs nearly 11 tons and produces a devastating above-ground explosion that sends a mushroom cloud into the sky.

It is the most powerful bomb the U.S. military has used since dropping the atomic bomb onNagasaki, Japan, at the end of World War II, and has never been used in combat before.

Like the U.S. retaliatory missile strike in Syria last Friday, however, use of the monster munition in Afghanistan is more symbolic than tactical since it is unlikely to change the course of America’s longest war.President Donald Trump praised the bombing as a “very, very successful mission.” He indicated that he had given the Pentagon a free hand as part of his vow to step up the war on Islamic State, also called ISIS.

“We have given them total authorization and that’s what they’re doing and frankly that’s why they’ve been so successful lately,” he told reporters at the White House.

While the Pentagon’s formal rules of engagement have not changed, military commanders appear to have taken greater liberties in recent weeks — and made more mistakes.

A series of misdirected U.S. airstrikes in Iraq and Syria and a botched ground raid in Yemen have led to an increase in reported civilian casualties. Earlier Thursday, the U.S. military announced an airstrike this week had accidentally killed 18 rebel fighters battling ISIS in northern Syria in the worst friendly-fire incident of that conflict.

The military said the MOAB was dropped from the rear door of an MC-130 cargo plane Thursday night as part of a U.S.-backed offensive on an ISIS stronghold in Achin district in Nangarhar province.

The militants have gained strength in the area, which is close to Pakistan, and have been locked in a ground battle with Afghan security forces backed by U.S. special operator advisers.

Army Staff Sgt. Mark De Alencar, 37, a Green Beret from Maryland, was killed Saturday after coming under fire in eastern Nangarhar. He was the first American service member killed in combat this year in Afghanistan, and the 1, 833rd since the U.S.-led invasion in late 2001.

The giant bomb initially falls with a parachute, but a GPS system guides the bomb to its target. The munition detonates before it hits the ground, sending a lethal shock wave more than 1 miles away.

The explosion was intended to send pulverizing pressure through the rocky labyrinth of tunnels, where Islamic State fighters were able to move without being detected by American spy planes, U.S. officials said.

“This is the right munition to reduce these obstacles and maintain the momentum of our offensive,” said Gen. John Nicholson, commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan.

The MOAB was moved to Afghanistan before Trump took office, officials said, and Nicholson did not need specific presidential approval to use it although the White House was briefed.

The Pentagon has 8,400 troops in Afghanistan to train and advise Afghan forces; most rarely participate in direct combat.

White House spokesman Sean Spicer said U.S. commanders “took all precautions necessary to prevent civilian casualties and collateral damage as a result of the operation.”

Speaking by phone from Achin district, Sher Nabi, a commander with the Afghan Local Police, said the bomb landed about a half-mile outside the town of Shogal, near the border with Pakistan.

Nabi, who commands a 60-man unit of the government militia, said Afghan security forces have carried out operations in the area for several days against suspected The non-nuclear bomb, known as the “mother of all bombs,” is 30 feet long and weighs nearly 11 tons. ISIS supporters.

Nabi said that the bomb killed “many militants” and destroyed their weapons.

The massive bomb in some ways is a shift from recent Pentagon weapons systems, which uses drones and missiles capable of hitting targets through an open window.

The MOAB was developed in 2002 to “put pressure on then-Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein to cease and desist or the United States would not only have the means but use them against the unpopular tyrant,” the Air Force said in 2008.

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE