The “Mother of all Bombs” was dropped and exploded in eastern Afghanistan, as military leaders said it flattened a cave-and-tunnel complex controlled by the Islamic State terror group.
The MOAB, GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast targeted the Achin district of Nangarhar province, which is in the nearby the Afghan-Pakistan border. Thus far, military officials quoted that 39 ISIS members were killed.
As widely reported, the MOAB is a 21,000-pound bomb, is known as the largest non-nuclear weapon in the United States military arsenal. Once dropped, it could be seen midair prior to denotation. Smoke quickly rose after hitting the impact zone, which officials said was more than a mile wide.
The United States military headquarters in Kabul was quoted that the bomb was dropped at 7:32 p.m. local time Thursday.
President Donald Trump, who launched the Tomahawk attack on Syrian just last week, said he authorized the MOAB bombing and called it a “very, very successful mission.”
“As [ISIS’] losses have mounted, they are using IEDs, bunkers, and tunnels to thicken their defense,” Gen. John Nicholson, commander of United States forces in Afghanistan, said in a statement. “This is the right munition to reduce these obstacles and maintain the momentum of our offensive against [ISIS].”
The MOAB was first tested in Florida at a military base in 2003, but hadn’t been used in combat before Thursday.
What a sight as the MOAB was dropped out of the rear of a US Air Force C-130 Hercules cargo plane due to its massive size.
Naturally, all eyes are now watching how Russia and China responds to the all-new tougher posturing of the Trump administration.
Meanwhile, here at home, USMilitary.com has experienced upwards 7,490% increase in page views on topics like, “Getting drafted” or “Can I get drafted.”