April 14, 2017•Update: April 14, 2017
By Shadi Khan Saif
KABUL, Afghanistan
The Kabul government has defended the dropping of a 11-ton “Mother of All Bombs” by the U.S. forces on suspected Daesh hideouts in eastern Afghanistan near Pakistan.
In a statement on Friday, President Ashraf Ghani said the U.S. had taken the Afghan government into confidence before dropping the bomb on Thursday.
“In this aerial bombing of Daesh centers, tunnels and hideouts in the Achin district, for which the Afghan government was taken into confidence, Daesh militants and enemies of Afghanistan have sustained heavy casualties,” Ghani said.
Since February, government forces in Afghanistan have been waging an intensive operation against militants in Nangarhar, where Achin is located. Just last week, a U.S. Special Forces member was killed in Nangarhar fighting Daesh.
According to U.S. Forces Afghanistan, the bomb was dropped at 7.32 p.m. local time (0258GMT) Thursday on an alleged tunnel complex in Achin. Officially known as the GBU-43B, or massive ordnance air blast weapon, the mega-bomb unleashes 11 tons of explosives. It is said to be most powerful non-nuclear bomb.
The Defense Ministry said 36 suspected Daesh militants were killed in the strike.
The Ghani administration has repeatedly vowed stern action against Daesh, al-Qaeda, and other terrorist groups while keeping doors open for talks with the Taliban only.
Ghani stressed that thanks to close coordination, the Afghan National Security and Defense Forces and the international forces in Afghanistan have largely avoided civilian casualties during such offensives.
“Fundamentalism and terrorism are major obstacles to peace, stability, and development for the region and the world, so it should be dealt with using a clear strategy without differentiating between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ terrorism,” he said.
The top U.S. military commander in Afghanistan, Gen. John Nicholson, said certain “tactical targets” had been achieved by dropping the massive bomb on Daesh.
Addressing a press conference in Kabul, Nicholson said the target is to eliminate Daesh this year from Afghanistan.
He hailed the Afghan National Security and Defense Forces (ANSDF)’s campaign against the militants, and said the latest aerial operation in Achin district would help pave the way for more effective ground offensives.
He said no event outside of Afghanistan had influenced the decision to drop the huge bomb on suspected Daesh hideouts.
About actions against the Afghan Taliban, the U.S. commander said he hoped fighting with the militant group would end soon and the reconciliation process with the Taliban would commence.
Meanwhile, Afghanistan's Ambassador to Pakistan, Omar Zakhilwal, slammed the U.S. bombing in a series of tweets that contradicted the official line take by the Kabul-based administration.
"I find the use of the largest non nuclear bomb, the so-called mother of all bombs on our soil reprehensible and counterproductive.
"If big bombs were the solution, we would be the most secure place on earth today," Zakhilwal tweeted.
*Anadolu Agency correspondent Aamir Latif contributed to this report from Karachi, Pakistan.
