The US military on Friday defended its decision to drop its most powerful non-nuclear bomb on ISIS positions in Afghanistan, describing it as a “tactical” move.
The GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb, or MOAB, was dropped Thursday night on a network of fortified underground tunnels that ISIS had been using to stage attacks on government forces.
The strike in Nangarhar province near the Pakistan border killed 36 ISIS fighters, Afghan officials said. The US military previously estimated ISIS had 600 to 800 active fighters in the area but was unclear whether it had hoped to strike more.
The blast destroyed three underground tunnels as well as weapons and ammunition, but no civilians were hurt, Afghan and US officials said.
However, ISIS denied that any of its fighters were killed or injured, according to a statement in Arabic distributed by the terror group’s media wing, Amaq News Agency.
The bomb was dropped as the government faces increased scrutiny over its military actions in the Middle East, including three US-led airstrikes in the past month that reportedly have killed civilians or allies.
On Tuesday, the US-led coalition in Syria killed 18 of its own allies from the Syrian Democratic Forces in what was described as a misdirected airstrike. The United States is also investigating two strikes in Iraq and Syria, which Iraqi officials and activists in Syria say killed dozens of civilians.
In Afghanistan, with its rural and agrarian economy, civilians who are engaged in food-gathering, woodcutting, farming or tending herds are often near or beside concentrations of militants. The blast radius of an explosion of this size could pose risks to people far from the center of the target.
For that reason, President Barack Obama’s administration did not consider using the bomb, American officials said. Early in the Iraq war in April 2003, during the administration of President George W. Bush, American commanders weighed using the weapon to try to kill President Saddam Hussein, who was on the run from United States troops who had toppled his government.
Some critics said the bombing could send an unintended message to North Korea that may unnecessarily rattle nerves in Pyongyang at a time of high tension for no clear strategic reason, while failing to advance a long-term strategy in Afghanistan.
The Trump administration has clearly been unprecedented in many ways. This bombing is only affirmation of that. It’s unclear how this will affect future international politics and policy however one thing is for sure, the Trump administration is trying to send a message to the rest of the world.