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Up to 36 suspected Islamic State militants were killed in Afghanistan when the US dropped the largest non-nuclear bomb ever used in combat, the Afghan defence ministry said on Friday.

To target what the military described as a tunnel complex used by the Isiss Afghanistan affiliate, the US for the first time used what the military colloquially calls the mother of all bombs, the GBU-43/B.

Dawlat Waziri, an Afghan ministry spokesman said of Thursdays strike: No civilian has been hurt and only the base, which Daesh used to launch attacks in other parts of the province, was destroyed.

Designed for destroying underground targets but not itself a deep-earth penetrator weapon, the GBU-43/B has the explosive yield of more than 11 tons of TNT. The massive bomb is dropped from air force planes and detonates before reaching the ground, resulting in an enormous blast radius. Only the Massive Ordnance Penetrator GBU-57, which has never been used in war, is a larger conventional weapon.

The psychological effect on survivors or observers is considered an added impact of the weapon.

Asked whether he had authorized the bombing, Donald Trump said: Everybody knows exactly what happened. What I do is I authorize my military. We have the greatest military in the world and theyve done a job as usual. We have given them total authorization and thats what theyre doing and frankly thats why theyve been so successful lately.

Did this bombing send a message to North Korea? I dont know if this sends a message; it doesnt make any difference if it does or not, the president said. North Korea is a problem, the problem will be taken care of. He implied that China was working very hard on this issue.

Army Gen John W Nicholson, the commander of US forces in Afghanistan, said in a statement that the GBU-43/B was the right munition to use against the Islamic State in Khorosan, or Isis-K.

As Isis-Ks losses have mounted, they are using IEDs, bunkers and tunnels to thicken their defense. This is the right munition to reduce these obstacles and maintain the momentum of our offensive against Isis-K, Nicholson said.

The blast detonated at 7.32pm local time in the Achin district of the eastern province of Nangarhar, according to the US military.

Sarab, a local resident from Asadkhel in Achin, close to the mountain where the bomb targeted Isis tunnels, said he saw a giant flame before the blast made the ground shake. It was the biggest blast I have ever heard, he said. Sarab added that the targeted area had recently been completely occupied by Isis fighters.

There is no way that civilians were still living there, he said.

However, a parliamentarian from Nangarhar, Esmatullah Shinwari, said locals had told him one teacher and his young son had been killed. One man, the MP recounted, had told him before the phone lines went down: I have grown up in the war, and I have heard different kinds of explosions through 30 years: suicide attacks, earthquakes different kinds of blasts. I have never heard anything like this. Phone connections are regularly interrupted in Achin and there were no immediate indication of casualties.

Haji Ghalib Mujahed, a local veteran commander, said he felt tremors all the way to Bati Kot, a neighbouring district where he is now the administrative chief.

According to the most recent estimates from the US military in Afghanistan, there are between 600 and 800 Isis-K fighters in the country. Most of them are based in southern Nangarhar province, including in Achin.

An American special forces soldier was killed last week in Achin while fighting Isis-K, but a US military spokesman in Kabul, Capt William Salvin, said there was absolutely no connection between that death and Thursdays bombing.

Nicholsons command said it took every precaution to avoid civilian casualties, without defining those steps, but gave no word on the impact to Afghan civilians.

The military said it used the GBU-43/B to minimize the risk to Afghan and US forces fighting Isis-K in Achin.

Following the bombing, US and Afghan forces began clearing operations in the targeted area.

An Afghan army soldier told the Guardian, as he was driving toward the targeted area: The explosion felt like a big earthquake, even in the surrounding districts.

Trump has said practically nothing about Afghanistan, either as candidate or president. Nicholson told Congress in February that he wanted a few thousand more troops to bolster the 8,400-strong force Barack Obama left to wage Americas longest war, now in its 16th year.

Trump on Wednesday said he would dispatch his national security adviser, HR McMaster, to meet with Nicholson and conduct a policy review. As a three-star army general on active duty, McMaster is outranked by Nicholson, making it difficult for McMaster to resist Nicholsons recommendations.

The US military is currently facing widespread concerns that its accelerated bombing campaigns in Syria, Iraq and Yemen are increasing civilian casualties. A 17 March strike on a building in Mosul is currently under investigation after killing scores of Iraqis.

US allies have also felt the brunt of escalated US airstrikes. On Thursday, the Pentagon revealed that its Syrian allies in a Kurdish-led ground force, the Syrian Democratic Forces, requested an airstrike on an errant position erroneously believed to be held by Isis. The 11 April strike killed 18 fighters belonging to the Syrian Democratic Forces themselves.

Air Force statistics released on Thursday show that March 2017 was the most intense month of the US-led bombing campaign against Isis in Iraq and Syria, a war nearly three years old. US warplanes fired 3,878 munitions in March, topping January 2017s previous high of 3,600.

In Afghanistan, US warplanes fired 203 weapons in March, the highest volume since October.

Hamid Karzai, the former president of Afghanistan installed in 2001 by the US and backed by the international community, tweeted that the bombing meant Afghans needed to stop the USA.

Trump said on the campaign trail that he would bomb the shit out of Isis.

His spokesman, Sean Spicer, said on Thursday the use of the GBU-43/B showed the US takes the fight against Isis very seriously and in order to defeat the group we must deny them operational space, which we did .

Describing the bombing at his regular White House press briefing, he told reporters: At around 7pm local time in Afghanistan last night the United States military used a GBU-43 weapon 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.

He refused to answer further questions about the bomb at his regular press briefing, referring journalists to the Department of Defense.

Additional reporting by David Smith in Washington

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36 Isis militants killed in US 'mother of all bombs' attack ...

A GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast Bomb (MOAB), nicknamed the "mother of all bombs," was dropped at 7:32 p.m. local time, according to four US military officials with direct knowledge of the mission. A MOAB is a 30-foot-long, 21,600-pound, GPS-guided munition.

President Donald Trump called it "another successful job" later Thursday.

The bomb was dropped by an MC-130 aircraft, stationed in Afghanistan and operated by Air Force Special Operations Command, Pentagon spokesman Adam Stump told CNN.

Officials said the target was an ISIS cave and tunnel complex and personnel in the Achin district of the Nangarhar province, a remote area in the country's east which borders Pakistan.]

"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," White House press secretary Sean Spicer said later Thursday. The strike "targeted a system of tunnels and cave that ISIS fighters use to move around freely."

Afghanistan's ambassador to the US, Hamdullah Mohib, told CNN's Brooke Baldwin that the bomb was dropped after fighting had intensified over the last week between US Special Forces and Afghan troops against ISIS.

The US and Afghan forces were unable to advance because ISIS had mined the area with explosives, so the bomb was dropped to clear the tunnels, Mohib said.

Trump declined to say whether he personally signed off on the strike, but did comment, "Everybody knows exactly what happens. So, what I do is I authorize our military."

He continued, "We have given them total authorization and that's what they're doing."

Asked about Trump's "total authorization" comments, a senior administration official declined to specify whether the President indeed ordered the strike in Afghanistan.

But the official said that in general, "We don't approve every strike," adding that, "This administration has moved further away" from dictating military strategy from the White House.

It's a change both Trump and Defense Secretary James Mattis wanted, the official said.

The President has granted military commanders broader latitude to act independently on several battlefields where US forces are involved, which Trump touted as making a "tremendous difference" in the fight against ISIS.

Republican hawks were quick to voice their support for the strike Thursday.

"I hope America's adversaries are watching & now understand there's a new sheriff in town," tweeted Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican. "Pleased Air Force dropped MOAB against ISIL in Afghanistan. Must be more aggressive against ISIL everywhere - including Afghanistan."

But California Democrat Rep. Jackie Speier voiced concerns about potentially increasing US military involvement in Afghanistan.

"We are escalating in an area I think we should be deescalating in," she told CNN's Wolf Blitzer. "Coupled with what happened in Yemen, what happened in Syria, these are efforts that are made to suggest that we will be engaging in wars in three different countries simultaneously."

Gen. John Nicholson, commander of US forces in Afghanistan, signed off on the use of the bomb, according to the sources. The authority to deploy the weapon was granted to Nicholson by the commander of US Central Command, Gen. Joseph Votel, Stump said.

This is the first time a MOAB has been used in the battlefield, according to the US officials. This munition was developed during the Iraq war and is an air blast-type warhead that explodes before hitting the ground in order to project a a massive blast to all sides.

As originally conceived, the MOAB was to be used against large formations of troops and equipment or hardened above-ground bunkers. The target set has also been expanded to include targets buried under softer surfaces, like caves or tunnels.

Former Defense Secretary William Perry described the stark difference in power between a MOAB and nuclear bomb.

"The #MOAB explosive yield is 0.011 kilotons, typical nuclear yield is 10-180 kilotons - the US alone possesses over 7000 nuclear weapons," he tweeted.

"As ISIS-K's losses have mounted, they are using IEDs, bunkers and tunnels to thicken their defense," Nicholson said in a statement following the strike.

"This is the right munition to reduce these obstacles and maintain the momentum of our offensive against ISIS-K," Nicholson added.

"US forces took every precaution to avoid civilian casualties with this strike. US Forces will continue offensive operations until ISIS-K is destroyed in Afghanistan," read the statement from US Forces Afghanistan.

The extent of the damage and whether anyone was killed is not yet clear. The military is currently conducting an assessment.

The Pentagon is currently reviewing whether to deploy additional trainers to Afghanistan to help bolster US allies there.

There are about 8,400 US troops in Afghanistan and they regularly perform counterterrorism operations against ISIS in the Nangarhar Province.

The US counterterrorism mission is separate from the NATO-led effort to train, advise and assist the Afghan army and police force.

While ISIS is identified primarily with its presence in Iraq and Syria, US and coalition officials have long expressed concern about a growing presence in Afghanistan.

ISIS first emerged in the summer of 2015 in the country's east, fast gaining ground and support, often among disaffected Taliban or Afghan youth.

US military officials have said the ISIS branch is largely comprised of former members of regional terror groups, including the Pakistani Taliban and Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan.

A US official told CNN that the military estimates are that the Afghan affiliate of ISIS has about 600 to 800 fighters, primarily based in two to three districts in southern Nangarhar. There are also a small number of ISIS operatives in Kunar province as well, the official added.

The Afghan offshoot's link to the organization's Syria-based leadership has been questioned. Many say in fact the Afghan ISIS fighters came from Pakistan and adopted the group's branding in order to get financing.

CNN's Zachary Cohen, Jim Acosta, Jeremy Diamond, Ehsan Popalzai and Euan McKirdy contributed to this report.

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US drops largest non-nuclear bomb in Afghanistan -- CNN

Targeting an ISIS cave complex in eastern Afghanistan on Thursday, the U.S. military dropped a 22,000-pound bomb nicknamed "the mother of all bombs," the largest non-nuclear weapon ever used in combat by the U.S.

Formally known as the GBU-43, or massive ordnance air blast (MOAB) bomb, it was developed in 2003.

"At 7:32 p.m. local time today, U.S. Forces Afghanistan conducted a strike on an ISIS-K tunnel complex in Achin district, Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, as part of ongoing efforts to defeat ISIS-K in Afghanistan in 2017," U.S. Forces Afghanistan said in a statement Thursday. ISIS-K refers to ISIS-Khorasan, an ISIS affiliate in Afghanistan that mainly operates in the eastern part of the country. Achin is right on the border with Pakistan.

Thursday was the first time the MOAB has been used in combat.

"The strike used a GBU-43 bomb dropped from a U.S. aircraft," the statement continued. "The strike was designed to minimize the risk to Afghan and U.S. forces conducting clearing operations in the area while maximizing the destruction of ISIS-K fighters and facilities."

The bomb was dropped from the rear of an MC-130 aircraft, said Adam Stump, a Pentagon spokesman.

The bomb is so large that it is carried in the cargo hold of the aircraft then rolled out the plane's rear door toward its target.

While the MOAB is the largest non-nuclear bomb ever used in combat, it is not the largest non-nuclear bomb in the U.S. military's arsenal. That is the massive ordnance penetrator (MOP), which is 30,000 pounds.

"As ISIS-K's losses have mounted, they are using IEDs, bunkers and tunnels to thicken their defense," said Gen. John W. Nicholson, the commander of U.S. Forces Afghanistan. "This is the right munition to reduce these obstacles and maintain the momentum of our offensive against ISIS-K."

The military statement added, "U.S. forces took every precaution to avoid civilian casualties with this strike. U.S. forces will continue offensive operations until ISIS-K is destroyed in Afghanistan."

Defense officials said Gen. John Nicholson, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, had the authorities to use the bomb as part of the larger authorities to fight ISIS granted to his command in January 2016.

The officials said the planning to use the bomb had been under way for months during the Obama administration and that the bomb had been in Afghanistan for months.

One official described the use of the MOAB as "the right weapon, the right target, and the desired effect.

Afghan forces and the American troops advising them have engaged in heavy fighting with ISIS forces in Afghanistan over the past year.

An American special operations soldier was killed last weekend in combat operations against ISIS in Nangarhar province, where the bomb was dropped. A defense official told ABC News there was no link to that incident since the bomb drop had been planned months ago.

Asked Thursday if he authorized the strike, President Donald Trump said he authorized the military.

Everybody knows exactly what happened, and what I do is I authorize my military weve given them total authorization," he said.

He added, Frankly, thats why theyve been so successful lately, saying recent weeks stand in contrast to the last eight years under former President Barack Obama.

But Trump may have been referring to the broader authorities provided to the U.S. military in the fight against ISIS in Afghanistan since a defense official said the use of the bomb did not require presidential authority.

Editor's note: An earlier version of this story, citing the U.S. military, stated that the MOAB is the largest non-nuclear weapon in the U.S. militarys arsenal. This story has since been updated to reflect that the MOAB is the largest non-nuclear weapon ever used in combat by the U.S.

ABC News' Jordyn Phelps contributed to this report.

Here is the original post:
US drops 'mother of all bombs' on ISIS forces in Afghanistan ...

Thursdays detonation in Afghanistan of the massive GBU 43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast, also known as the Mother of All Bombs (MOAB) could be for this war what the Tet Offensive was for Vietnam: a tactical military success that became the iconic symbol of a war gone hopelessly wrong.

Famed CBS correspondent Walter Cronkites poignant post-Tet commentary woke up Americans to that wars strategic bankruptcy. The MOAB should do the same for Afghanistan. Fortunately, there is still time to win this one.

I have known General Nicholson for nearly ten years. There is no senior American official with more experience in the country. He must have carefully considered the use of the bomb and made a sound decision on the military considerations. Therein lies the rub.

Afghan responses in the Twittersphere reflect the polarizing nature of this intractable conflict. Pro-government voices applaud the strike and note the absence of civilian casualties. Critics use the strike to stoke outrage. They decry what they call the continued use of Afghan soil as a testing ground for massive weapons. Former President Hamid Karzai, whom the United States supported after the fall of the Taliban, took to Twitter to condemn the strike and called on Afghans to put a stop to U.S. military operations. The Taliban likely are pleased with the strike. They detest IS-K as much or more than they despise the Afghan government.

These responses were entirely predictable, but whatever effort was coordinated to limit the potential fallout seems ineffective. Unless the United States and Afghan governments can provide extensive post-strike analysis that justifies the bombing in the minds of Afghans, civil unrest becomes likely. Combined with high levels of dissatisfaction with the government, unemployment likely reaching 50 percent, an ongoing refugee crisis, heightened tensions with Pakistan, and steady advances by the Taliban, such unrest could explode into catastrophe. I wrote in 2015 about exactly this kind of calamity arising and how to prevent it.

The fact of the matter is that no American in Kabul oversees the full-range of U.S. political, diplomatic, military, economic, and intelligence operations in Afghanistan. Each agency operates in its own bureaucratic silo. As consistently happens in war, business, and government, silos can undermine performance and even lead to disaster.

The only person with the authority and responsibility to manage the full-range of American efforts in Afghanistan is President Trump. He is also the only one who can do so regarding conflicts in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, and Somalia, not to mention ongoing challenges with North Korea, Iran, Russia, and China. This absurd situation is a major reason why the worlds greatest military cannot seem to win any wars. It also helps to explain why so much in-silo progress made at such expense consistently fails to add up to strategic success.

How can President Trump prevent the MOAB from becoming Afghanistans Tet?

First, he needs to put somebody in charge of the full range of American efforts in Afghanistan immediately. There is no U.S. ambassador in Afghanistan. Key senior officials in State and Defense have yet to be nominated. The most logical person, therefore, is General Nicholson. He has the experience, relationships, breadth of vision, and intellectual courage to handle the responsibility. He is also in Kabul.

Second, he needs to develop a realistic Afghanistan policy and direct Nicholson to develop an integrated strategy to achieve a successful outcome. The Afghan strategy has been adrift since 2010, as the Obama administration fixated on troop withdrawals. National Security Advisor Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster needs to complete the policy review so Nicholson and an interagency team can begin making a strategy worthy of the name.

The MOAB does not need to become a new symbol of expensive failure. Americans need to begin asking what the hell is going on and demand the Trump administration deliver realistic aims, a credible strategy, and proper war management. The stakes are worth it.

Christopher D. Kolenda(@Chris_Kolenda) isa senior fellow at the Global Policy Center and author of Focused Engagement,a critically acclaimed report on Afghanistan with the Center for a New American Security.

The views expressed by contributors are their own and are not the views of The Hill.

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Afghanistan is at risk of becoming the new Vietnam - The Hill (blog)

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN

Steeped in centuries of seemingly impenetrable tea tradition, Afghanistans capital is getting a little coffee buzz.

Nargis Aziz Shahi says business has been increasing day by day since she opened iCafe a couple of weeks ago. Looking a little like a brick-walled Starbucks with a distinctively homey Afghan feel, its attracting a mostly youthful clientele drawn by free internet service and books to peruse over a cup or two.

There were three key objectives that led me open the cafe: 1) to introduce coffee to Afghans who mostly dont know coffee and its taste and benefits; 2) to provide a place for our youth to carry out social activities; and 3) to provide job opportunities for young people, Shahi told VOAs Afghan service.

Tea came to Afghanistan early

Afghanistan was introduced to tea early because of its location on ancient trade routes. The Chinese traded silk and tea for other commodities. Tea became part of the countrys hospitality for guests. Just about every family has its own recipe.

Today, Afghanistan is the worlds largest tea consumer, with each person consuming an average of almost 4.5 kilograms more than 1,500 cups per year in 2012. By comparison, the U.S. ranked 72nd at 0.4 kilograms per person.

Only the Russian Federation and Britain, with much larger populations, import more tea.

Coffee culture gets a start

Dr. Nabi Misdaq, adviser to President Ashraf Ghani, has visited iCafe. He regards coffee drinking as a new, enlightening culture in Afghanistan.

It is a good beginning, Misdaq said. It is a profitable business, because many young people come here to read books and exchange ideas. I am sure that this will also lead to the opening of new shops.

The cafe also serves as a place for young Afghans to carry out social and cultural activities. They come to iCafe to attend literary programs and poetry contests.

The female customers say there are few other places where they can get together and entertain themselves, but they maintain that they come to the shop to relax and enjoy.

I am very happy that we have a coffee shop in Kabul, said customer Samira Seerat. It is a very good place for women to visit. There are in fact no appropriate places for women in Kabul, and Afghanistan as a whole, to visit, because our people believe that women cannot go to restaurants.

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New Kabul Coffee Shop Aims for Success in Tea-dominated Afghanistan - Voice of America