U.S. forces dropped the largest non-nuclear bomb ever used in a strike against ISIS in eastern Afghanistan on Thursday, according to Pentagon officials, reportedly killing 36 militants.
The U.S. dropped a GBU-43 bomb, nicknamed the “mother of all bombs,” on ISIS fighters and tunnels and caves used by the terror group in the country’s Nangarhar province, officials said. It was dropped from an aircraft.
Afghanistan’s defense ministry said the attack left 36 ISIS fighters dead — a claim the ISIS-affiliated news agency Amaq later denied.
President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House that he was “so proud of our military.” (Photo: NBC)
US drops ‘mother of all bombs,’ kills at least 36 ISIS fighters in Afghanistan (Phto Department of Defense)
Gen. John W Nicholson, commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, said U.S. forces in the area had seen no evidence nor heard any reports of civilian casualties.
“The weapon used … is designed to destroy caves and tunnels. This was the right weapon against the right target,” he told reporters Friday. “I want to reassure the people of Afghanistan that we took every possible precaution to prevent civilian casualties.”
He added: “We are united with the Afghan government to prevent terrorists from establishing safe havens in Afghanistan.”
Late Thursday, President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House that he was “so proud of our military.”
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