Thread: 'Mother of all bombs' death toll rises to 94, Afghan authorities say

'Mother of all bombs' death toll rises to 94, Afghan authorities say

Officials near site of blast maintain no civilians were killed

Chantal Da Silva
3 hours ago

At least 94 Isis militants have been killed in an attack that saw the US military drop the largest non-nuclear weapon it has ever used in combat, Afghan officials say.

Ataullah Khogyani, spokesman for the provincial governor in Nangarhar, where the bomb fell, said the number of Isis members dead was up from the 36 reported a day earlier.

“Fortunately, there is no report of civilians being killed in the attack,” Mr Khogyani said.

The US dropped the GBU-43 massive ordnance air blast, also known as the “mother of all bombs” – or MOAB, for short – on an area of eastern Afghanistan known to be populated by Isis militants.

The ordnance was aimed at a tunnel complex in the remote eastern Nangarhar province near the Pakistan border, where it is believed to have killed at least four Isis leaders, Mr Khogyani said.

He said a clearance operation to assess the site of the attack was still under way.

Yesterday, the US commander in Afghanistan said the bomb had "achieved its intended purpose".

"This weapon was used against Isis-K and their sanctuary inside Afghanistan," General John Nicholson, commander of Nato forces, told reporters.

"The purpose of this operation was to eliminate their sanctuary inside Southern Nangarhar... The weapon achieved its intended purpose."

Isis released a statement on Friday denying that any of its fighters were killed or injured by the massive bomb.

The MOAB is a GPS-guided munition that had not been used in combat since its first test in 2003, when its blast created a mushroom cloud that could be seen from 20 miles (32km) away.

The bomb’s power is equivalent to 11 tonnes of explosives – which can be compared to the 15,000 and 20,000 tonnes of TNT packed into the atomic bombs dropped on Japan at the end of the Second World War.

The office of Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani said on Friday there was “close coordination” between the US military and the Afghan government on the MOAB operation and that they worked carefully to prevent any civilian casualties.

The US has concentrated on fighting them, while also supporting Afghan forces against the Taliban.

The MOAB strike came as US President Donald Trump gets ready to dispatch his first high-level delegation to Kabul, amid uncertainty around his future plans for American troops stationed in Afghanistan.

More than 8,000 US troops are still in the country training local forces and conducting counter-terrorism operations.

Afghan commandos are positioned in Pandola village, near the site of the US bomb drop AP

At least 94 Isis militants have been killed in an attack that saw the US military drop the largest non-nuclear weapon it has ever used in combat, Afghan officials say.

Ataullah Khogyani, spokesman for the provincial governor in Nangarhar, where the bomb fell, said the number of Isis members dead was up from the 36 reported a day earlier.

“Fortunately, there is no report of civilians being killed in the attack,” Mr Khogyani said.

US defends use of 'mother of all bombs' in Afghanistan

The US dropped the GBU-43 massive ordnance air blast, also known as the “mother of all bombs” – or MOAB, for short – on an area of eastern Afghanistan known to be populated by Isis militants.

The ordnance was aimed at a tunnel complex in the remote eastern Nangarhar province near the Pakistan border, where it is believed to have killed at least four Isis leaders, Mr Khogyani said.

He said a clearance operation to assess the site of the attack was still under way.

Yesterday, the US commander in Afghanistan said the bomb had "achieved its intended purpose".

"This weapon was used against Isis-K and their sanctuary inside Afghanistan," General John Nicholson, commander of Nato forces, told reporters.

"The purpose of this operation was to eliminate their sanctuary inside Southern Nangarhar... The weapon achieved its intended purpose."

Isis released a statement on Friday denying that any of its fighters were killed or injured by the massive bomb.

The MOAB is a GPS-guided munition that had not been used in combat since its first test in 2003, when its blast created a mushroom cloud that could be seen from 20 miles (32km) away.

The bomb’s power is equivalent to 11 tonnes of explosives – which can be compared to the 15,000 and 20,000 tonnes of TNT packed into the atomic bombs dropped on Japan at the end of the Second World War.

The office of Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani said on Friday there was “close coordination” between the US military and the Afghan government on the MOAB operation and that they worked carefully to prevent any civilian casualties.

The US has concentrated on fighting them, while also supporting Afghan forces against the Taliban.

The MOAB strike came as US President Donald Trump gets ready to dispatch his first high-level delegation to Kabul, amid uncertainty around his future plans for American troops stationed in Afghanistan.

More than 8,000 US troops are still in the country training local forces and conducting counter-terrorism operations.

Additional reporting by AP

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/wo...-a7684731.html

Digging through all that rubble will take some time. So far, no civilians reported killed.

Originally Posted by Judy

Digging through all that rubble will take some time. So far, no civilians reported killed.

Hmm, strange that you would believe these reports coming from a foreign governmental spokesperson without question, yet fail to believe the overwhelming evidence provided by our own intelligence organizations that Assad used chemical warfare against a civilian population.

I'm not saying single word of this isn't true. I'm just saying it is a little strange that you wouldn't question it considering the position you took on the Syria bombings.

For the record, I believe Assad used chemical warfare, I support the bombing of Assad's airbase, and I support the destruction of the tunnel network utilized by ISIS.

When they show me a video that proves to me it's false, I won't believe them either. That wouldn't change my support for closing off this terrorist thoroughfare between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

A president who gets things done. I love it!

Originally Posted by MW

For the record, I believe Assad used chemical warfare, I support the bombing of Assad's airbase, and I support the destruction of the tunnel network utilized by ISIS.

I support this bombing of ISIS in Afghanistan, as I support the bombing of ISIS anywhere they are, like in Syria. I don't support the bombing of Assad's forces though. No matter how bad he may be, ISIS, Al-Quaida, and all the other terrorists fighting in Syria are MUCH worse. First, we shouldn't be supporting the rebels, because we don't know who they are, and they have been known to have many islamic terrorists among their ranks. The only people we should be supporting in Syria are the Kurds, because they are the only ones taking on ISIS head on, while at the same time we should just leave Assad alone so he can take care of the other terrorist groups, like Al-Quaida, and yes, even the so-called moderate rebels, who have made it publicly know time and again that they want to ethnically cleanse Syria of anyone who is not a sunni muslim like them and impose Sharia Law, once they take control. If that's not terrorism, I don't know what is.

As far as the chemical weapons go, we should've of least investigated Assad's claim that a bomb hit a chemical weapon's storage facility that was used by the so-called "moderate" rebels, before bombing his forces. Those so-called "moderate" rebels have been known to lie time and again. They are laughing as they manipulate us into doing their dirty work.

Also, as far as the Kurds go, I don't know how many people here are Christians, but as a Christian, I fully support our support for the Kurds. It's actually bible prophecy coming true as we speak. Just google the phrase "Kurds in bible prophecy" and you'll see what I'm talking about.

Basically, in a nutshell, God says in the bible that he will one day unleash the Medes. The Medes in the bible are today's Kurds. By siding with the Kurds, we are actually on God's side. All those on the opposite side of the Kurds are on the opposite side of God's side. I don't know how many of you guys here are atheists or any other religion, but as for myself, as a Christian, I believe every single word in the bible. The way I see it, if anything in the bible weren't true, God wouldn't have included it in the bible.

Again, just google "Kurds in bible prophecy" and research this for yourselves.

Oh, and since I got off course here a little by mentioning bible prophecy, I might as well just throw in some PROOF that disproves the theory of some of these wack-job preachers who say that Russia is the anti-christ who will invade israel, because Russia is said to be north of Israel. Here is proof of how it is not Russia, and see who this anti-christ nation truly is......https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Cq340CtbW4

It is no surprise that this anti-christ nation is a muslim nation.

You are 100% right, Russia is not the anti-christ, Russia is not our enemy, and we need a whole new outlook on this country. I believe when the time is right, Trump will open that door, long-overdue, and let the line shine in. It's way past time in my opinion, and I look forward to it. I feel it will be great for the United States, our people, as well as Russia and its people. When the US and Russia are in a mutually beneficial relationship, the whole world benefits.

Originally Posted by Judy

You are 100% right, Russia is not the anti-christ, Russia is not our enemy, and we need a whole new outlook on this country. I believe when the time is right, Trump will open that door, long-overdue, and let the line shine in. It's way past time in my opinion, and I look forward to it. I feel it will be great for the United States, our people, as well as Russia and its people. When the US and Russia are in a mutually beneficial relationship, the whole world benefits.

I don't feel like Russia is our enemy either. Two Christian countries like ours have no reason to not get along.

And I don't know if you took a look at the video on that link, but I think it is very interesting how this guy from England debunked the whole theory of Russia being the anti-christ that invades Israel. He takes a globe and draws a straight line from Jerusalem to the north pole, and Moscow is no where near that line, which debunks that whole stupid theory about Russia being the anti-christ. And it is also very interesting that that line runs exactly through Ankara, the capital of Turkey. It's also interesting that the bible specifically says that the devil's throne is in Pergamum, which is in modern day Turkey.