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U.S. Drops Largest Nonnuclear Bomb In Eastern Afghanistan

RFE/RL April 13, 2017

The United States says its forces in Afghanistan have used the army's largest nonnuclear bomb on an Islamic State (IS) target in the eastern province of Nangarhar.

In an April 13 statement, the U.S. military said the GBU-43 bomb was dropped at 7:32 p.m. local time on an IS tunnel complex in Achin district, close to the border with Pakistan.

The Pentagon said it was the first-ever combat use of the GBU-43 bomb, which weighs more than 10 tons and has been nicknamed the Mother Of All Bombs.

A Pentagon spokesman said the bomb was dropped from an MC-130 transport plane.

The strike follows last week's death of a U.S. special forces soldier fighting IS militants in Nangarhar Province.

It targeted a system of tunnels and caves that IS fighters use to "move around freely, making it easier for them to target U.S. military advisers and Afghan forces in the area," White House spokesman Sean Spicer said.

Spicer also said all necessary precautions were taken to prevent civilian casualties and collateral damage.

U.S. President Donald Trump later told reporters that the bombing was "another very, very successful mission."

He did not answer directly when asked if he had authorized the use of the bomb.

"Everyone knows exactly what happened. What I do is authorize my military. We have given them total authorization," the U.S. president said.

When asked if the bomb had sent a message to North Korea, Trump said: "I don't know if this sends a message, and it doesn't make any difference if it does or not."

"North Korea is a problem, the problem will be taken care of," he also said.

He added that he and Chinese President Xi Jinping would work together to resolve the North Korean crisis.

Trump has ordered the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier group to head to the Korean Peninsula in an attempt to deter Pyongyang's nuclear and long-range missile ambitions, which it is developing in defiance of UN resolutions and sanctions.

Trump had urged China to do more to curtail North Korea's nuclear program when he met with Xi last week in Florida.

With reporting by AP and AFP

Source: http://www.rferl.org/a/us-drops -largest-nonnuclear-bomb- afghanistan/28428242.html

Copyright (c) 2017. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.