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Saturday 15 April 2017

Death toll from USA’s Mother Of All Bombs blast in Afghanistan rises to 90

Death toll from USA's Mother Of All Bombs blast in Afghanistan rises to 90
                                                                        (Picture: AP)


The number of jihadists killed when the USA dropped the ‘Mother Of All Bombs’ on Afghanistan has risen to 90.
It was previously claimed that 36 Isis fighters died when the 9,800kg (21,600lb) GBU-43 bomb was dropped on Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province.
The exact death toll is unclear, with one Afghan official quoting the number as 92, and another claiming 90 people were killed.
Achin district governor Esmail Shinwari said ‘at least 92 Daesh fighters were killed’ – adding there were ‘no military and civilian casualties at all’.
Meanwhile, Nangarhar provincial spokesman Attaullah Khogyani gave a figure of 90, far higher than the toll initially reported after the blast.
Death toll from USA's Mother Of All Bombs blast in Afghanistan rises to 90
The blast caused a mushroom cloud to erupt at the site (Picture: Reuters)
Developed in 2003, the ‘Mother Of All Bombs’ is the US military’s largest non-nuclear bomb and had never been used in combat before.
The exact effects of the military’s decision to drop the device on the remote area are still yet to emerge, though a network of tunnels and caves used by Isis were reportedly wiped out.



A huge mushroom cloud and flames towered over the region in the aftermath of the blast, while Afghan commandos and American troops are carrying out clean-up operations in the area.
General John Nicholson, the top US commander in Afghanistan, said: ‘The enemy had created bunkers, tunnels and extensive mine fields, and this weapon was used to reduce those obstacles so that we could continue our offensive in Nangarhar.’
Donald Trump said the action was ‘very, very successful’, but some analysts have criticised it as ‘disproportionate’.
Below is a video of a 2003 test of the bomb( Story metro.co.uk)


 
 
 

 


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