The US military today dropped its largest non-nuclear bomb ever deployed in combat on an Islamic State tunnel complex in eastern Afghanistan, close to the Pakistani border. A GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast Bomb (MOAB), nicknamed “Mother Of All Bombs,” was dropped on a tunnel complex of ISIS-Khorasan, a regional affiliate of the terror group, in Achin district of Afghanistan’s Nanagarh province, the Pentagon said.
1. It was the first-ever combat use of the MOAB. It is a custom-made Air Force weapon that has been in the arsenal for more than a decade but never used on the battlefield, although it was available throughout the Iraq war. It
2. MOAB is a 21,600-pound, GPS guided munition that is America’s most powerful non-nuclear bomb. is designed to hit softer targets such as surface facilities, tunnel entrances and troop concentrations. It is pushed out the rear of the launching aircraft, guided to its target by GPS and slowed by a parachute.
3. The bomb was dropped by an MC-130 aircraft, operated by the Air Force Special Operations Command. The GBU-43 is a large, powerful and accurately delivered weapon.
4. In its 2003 review of the legality of using the MOAB, the Pentagon concluded that it could not be called an indiscriminate killer under the Law of Armed Conflict. “Although the MOAB weapon leaves a large footprint, it is discriminate and requires a deliberate launching toward the target,” the review said adding that “It is expected that the weapon will have a substantial psychological effect on those who witness its use.”
5. Nangarhar, which borders Pakistan, is a hotbed of IS militancy. According to the Department of Defence, there are about 600-800 ISIS-K fighters in the region where bomb was dropped.
6. The US has concentrated heavily on combatting ISIS while also supporting Afghan forces battling the Taliban. the strike was designed to minimise the risk to Afghan and US forces conducting clearing operations in the Achin area “while maximizing the destruction” of IS fighters and facilities. He said IS has been using improvised explosive devices, bunkers and tunnels to strengthen its defenses.
7. The strike is part of the ongoing efforts to defeat ISIS-K in Afghanistan. The attack was designed to minimise the risk to Afghan and US Forces conducting clearing operations in the area while maximising the destruction of ISIS-K fighters and facilities.
8. The United States Central Command said US Forces took every precaution to avoid civilian casualties in the strike. It also said that the American forces will continue offensive operations until ISIS-K is destroyed in Afghanistan.
9. US President Donald Trump said he authorised the use of the bomb in Afghanistan and called the mission “very, very successful”. “It was really another successful job, we are very proud of our military. We are so proud of our military, it was another successful event. We have the greatest military in the world, they’ve done a job, as usual, so we have given them total authorisation and that’s what they’re doing, and frankly, that’s why they’ve been so successful lately,” Trump said at the White House.
10. Trump also attacked his predecessor Barack Obama saying: “If you look at what’s happened over the last eight weeks and you compare that to what’s happened over the last eight years, you’ll see there’s a tremendous difference.”
