KABUL (Reuters) - Former Afghan president Hamid Karzai accused his successor on Saturday of committing treason by allowing the U.S. military to drop the largest conventional bomb ever used in combat during an operation against Islamic State militants in Afghanistan.

Karzai, who also vowed to “stand against America”, retains considerable influence within Afghanistan’s majority Pashtun ethnic group, to which President Ashraf Ghani also belongs. His strong words could signal a broader political backlash that may endanger the U.S. military mission in Afghanistan.

Afghan defense officials have said the 21,600-pound (9,797-kg) GBU-43, dropped late on Thursday in the eastern province of Nangarhar, had killed nearly 100 suspected militants, though they acknowledged this was an estimate and not based on an actual body count.

“How could you permit Americans to bomb your country with a device equal to an atom bomb?” Karzai said at a public event in Kabul, questioning Ghani’s decision. “If the government has permitted them to do this, that was wrong and it has committed a national treason.”

Ghani’s office said the strike had been closely coordinated between Afghan and U.S. forces and replied to Karzai’s charges with a statement saying: “Every Afghan has the right to speak their mind. This is a country of free speech.”

Public reaction to Thursday’s strike has been mixed, with some residents near the blast praising Afghan and U.S. troops for pushing back the Islamic State militants.

While the bomb has been described as one of the largest non-nuclear devices ever used, its destructive power, equivalent to 11 tonnes of TNT, pales in comparison with the relatively small atomic bombs dropped on Japan in 1945, which had blasts equivalent to between 15,000 and 20,000 tonnes of TNT.

“VIOLATION OF OUR SOVEREIGNTY”

During Karzai’s tenure as president, his opposition to airstrikes by foreign military forces helped to sour his relationship with the United States and other Western nations.

As the Kabul government, split between Ghani and his rival Abdullah Abdullah under a U.S.-brokered power-sharing deal, remains fragile, Karzai’s political interventions draw close attention. Ghani has failed to build the kind of domestic following that Karzai still has despite stepping down in 2014.

Karzai said he planned to “stand against America”, a stance he compared to decisions earlier in his life to fight against the Soviets and later the Taliban regime.

“I decided to get America off my soil,” he said. “This bomb wasn’t only a violation of our sovereignty and a disrespect to our soil and environment, but will have bad effects for years.”

While Karzai did not elaborate on how he would oppose the United States, his stance may pose problems for Ghani’s administration, which is heavily reliant on the United States and other foreign donors for aid and military support.

Slideshow (10 Images)

On Friday, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, General John Nicholson, defended the strike, saying the decision to use the bomb was based on military needs, not political reasons.

Afghan troops, backed by U.S. warplanes and special forces, have been battling militants linked to Islamic State in eastern Afghanistan for years.

The most recent operation began in March and continued until troops hit Islamic State fighters entrenched in booby-trapped tunnels in a remote mountain region, leading commanders to call for the use of the GBU-43 bomb.</s>The United States has dropped a GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB) bomb, otherwise known as the ‘Mother of All Bombs’, on an Islamic State stronghold in Afghanistan’s eastern Nangarhar province. It is the first time the bomb, developed in the early days of the Iraq war, has been used in combat.

The bomb killed at least 36 militants as it destroyed a deep tunnel complex of the Islamic State group, Afghan officials said on Friday, ruling out any civilian casualties. US President Donald Trump had earlier called the mission “very, very successful.” The Afghan presidential palace said precautions were taken to avoid civilian casualties.

Here’s all you need to know about the attack.
• None ‘Trump admin should hit terror groups inside Pak’: Diplomats, leaders react to US bombing
• None Conflict could break out at any moment over North Korea, says China

How powerful is the MOAB?

The 9.8-tonne guided bomb, the largest non-nuclear weapon in America’s arsenal, is described by the US-based GlobalSecurity.org watchdog as “large, powerful and accurately delivered”.

It is a demolition bomb containing 18,700 pounds (8,480 kilogrammes) of the explosive H6, the watchdog’s website says, with a blast yield equivalent to 11 tons of TNT.

Nine metres (30 feet) long, with a diameter of one metre, according to GlobalSecurity.org, it is the largest-ever satellite-guided, air-delivered weapon in history. Popular Mechanics described it as weighing as much as an F-16 fighter jet.

Guided by GPS, it is dropped from the cargo ramp of a C-130 transport plane with its descent slowed by parachute, meaning it can be deployed from a greater height -- giving US pilots more time to reach safety.

It is a concussive bomb, meaning it is designed to detonate before it hits the ground. Its thin aluminium skin helps to maximise its blast radius and generate a shockwave which Wired.com said can reach up to 150 metres.
• None ‘Mother of all bombs shows Muslim lands are West’s laboratories’: Afghans react on Twitter
• None 36 Islamic State militants killed by America’s ‘mother of all bombs’: Afghan officials

It was developed in 2002-2003 by Alabama-based aerospace and defence company Dynetics in partnership with the Air Force Research Lab (AFRL), according to the company’s website.

The website said the bomb’s preliminary concept was developed into a detailed design within just three months, and successfully tested three times in 13 days. It was first produced for use in the early days of the Iraq war.

According to the Air Force, the last time the MOAB was tested in 2003, a huge mushroom cloud could be seen from 20 miles (32 kilometres) away.
• None Trump hails US military after ‘mother of all bombs’ dropped in Afghanistan
• None US targets IS with ‘mother of all bombs’ in Afghanistan, no word on damage done

What was the target?

The US Air Force said the target of Thursday’s bombing was a tunnel complex in Achin district in Afghanistan’s eastern Nangarhar province, a hotbed of Islamic State (IS) militancy on the border with Pakistan.

Achin district governor Esmail Shinwari said the bomb landed in the Momand Dara area while the defence ministry said the attack killed at least 36 IS militants. A damage assessment is still being carried out.

The area is extremely remote and mountainous, inaccessible to government forces. It is north of Tora Bora, the complex network of caves from where al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden gave US forces the slip and escaped into Pakistan in late 2001.

The US said it believed the area was so remote that no civilians were in the area.

The strike hit a system of tunnels and caves that IS fighters had used to “move around freely, making it easier for them to target US military advisers and Afghan forces” nearby, White House spokesman Sean Spicer said.

Wired.com said a concussive bomb such as the MOAB has the advantage in such terrain: “Its blast can turn corners, and push all the way to the furthest reaches of a cave.”</s>US drops Mother Of All Bombs at ISIS hideouts in Afghanistan (Photo: Twitter)

Jalalabad: The US military's largest non-nuclear bomb killed at least 36 militants as it destroyed a deep tunnel complex of the Islamic State group, Afghan officials said Friday, ruling out any civilian casualties.

The GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb -- better known as the "Mother Of All Bombs" -- hit IS hideouts in Achin district in eastern Nangarhar province on Thursday.

"As a result of the bombing, key Daesh (IS) hideouts and a deep tunnel complex were destroyed and 36 IS fighters were killed," the defence ministry said in a statement.

US President Donald Trump had earlier called the mission "very, very successful." The Afghan presidential palace said precautions were taken to avoid civilian casualties.

The huge bomb, delivered via an MC-130 transport plane, has a blast yield equivalent to 11 tons of TNT, and the weapon was originally designed as much to intimidate foes as to clear broad areas.

"The GBU-43/B is the largest non-nuclear bomb ever deployed in combat," Air Force spokesman Colonel Pat Ryder said. Achin district governor Esmail Shinwari said the bomb landed in the Momand Dara area of Achin district.

"The explosion was the biggest I have ever seen. Towering flames engulfed the area," Shinwari told AFP. "We don't know anything about the casualties so far, but since it is a Daesh (IS) stronghold we think a lot of Daesh fighters may have been killed."

An Afghan militant source told AFP from an undisclosed location that locals had described the ground shaking "like an earthquake", with people being knocked unconscious by the blast.

"People have started leaving the area fearing more bombings," he said. The Pentagon's announcement of the attack drove markets down, with Asian bourses headed south following overnight losses on Wall Street.

It added to concerns among investors already wary of risks over Syria and North Korea, as well as the outcome of the French presidential election. The assault came only a week after Trump ordered missile strikes against Syria in retaliation for a suspected chemical attack.

Meanwhile Trump has said he is keeping "all options" on the table to stop North Korea's nuclear programme, as speculation mounts that Pyongyang may soon hold another nuclear test.

Nangarhar, which borders Pakistan, is a hotbed of IS militancy. US forces have conducted a number of air strikes on jihadist bases in the area since August last year.

IS, notorious for its reign of terror in Syria and Iraq, has been making inroads into Afghanistan in recent years. It has attracted disaffected members of the Pakistani and Afghan Taliban as well as Uzbek Islamists.

But the group has been steadily losing territory in the face of heavy pressure both from US air strikes and a ground offensive led by Afghan forces.</s>An attack on a tunnel complex in Afghanistan with the largest non-nuclear weapon ever used in combat by the US military left 36 Islamic State militants dead and no civilian casualties.

The attack was in a remote mountainous area of Nangarhar province near the Pakistan border where there had been heavy fighting between Afghan forces and Islamic State (IS) militants.

The Ministry of Defence said in a statement that several IS caves and ammunition caches were destroyed by the giant bomb, which terrified villagers on both sides of the Afghanistan-Pakistan border with its "earsplitting blast".

Pentagon officials described it as the "mother of all bombs".

The US maintains over 8,000 troops in Afghanistan, training local forces and conducting counter-terrorism operations.

Over the past year they have largely concentrated on a surge of attacks by the Taliban but on Friday the US military appeared entirely focused on IS.

"This is the right weapon for the right target," said US general John W Nicholson, Nato commander in Afghanistan.

The bomb, known officially as a GBU-43B, or massive ordnance air blast weapon, unleashes 11 tons of explosives.

US president Donald Trump called Thursday’s operation a "very, very successful mission".

General Daulat Waziri, of the Afghanistan Ministry of Defence, said 36 IS fighters were killed by the blast and the death toll could rise.

This image made from a Thursday, April 13, 2017 video released by the U.S. Department of Defense shows a GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb strike on an Islamic State militant cave and tunnel systems in the Achin district of the Nangarhar Province in eastern Afghanistan.

He said the bombing was necessary because the tunnel complex was extremely hard to penetrate, with some as deep as 40m.

"It was a strong position and four times we had operations (attacking the site) and it was not possible to advance," he said, adding that the road leading to the complex "was full of mines".

Pakistani villagers living near the Afghan border said the explosion was so loud they thought a bomb had been dropped in their village by US planes targeting terrorists in Pakistan.

"I was sleeping when we heard a loud explosion. It was an ear-splitting blast," said Shah Wali, 46, who lives in the village of Goor Gari, 15 km (9 miles) from the border with Nangarhar.

"I jumped from my bed and came out of my home to see what has gone wrong in our village."

Mufti Khan, a resident of Achin in Nangarhar, said: "The whole house was shaking. When I came out of my house I saw a large fire and the whole area was burning."

Another Achin resident, Mohammad Hakim, voiced his approval, saying: "We are very happy and these kinds of bombs should be used in future as well, so Daesh is rooted out from here."

Daesh is the Arabic acronym for Islamic State.

"They killed our women, youths and elders sitting them on mines. We also ask the Kabul government to use even stronger weapons against them," Mr Hakim added.

The US estimates 600 to 800 IS fighters are present in Afghanistan, mostly in Nangarhar.

Inamullah Meyakhil, spokesman for the central hospital in eastern Nangarhar province, said it had received no dead or wounded from the attack.

District governor Ismail Shinwari said there is no civilian property near the strike location.

The Site Intelligence Group, which tracks extremist organisations, reported a statement from the Afghan Taliban condemning the US for its "terrorist" attack.

The statement said it is the responsibility of Afghans, not the US, to remove Islamic State from the country.</s>An attack on a tunnel complex in Afghanistan with the largest non-nuclear weapon ever used in combat by the US military left 36 Islamic State militants dead and no civilian casualties.

The attack was in a remote mountainous area of Nangarhar province near the Pakistan border where there had been heavy fighting between Afghan forces and Islamic State (IS) militants.

The Ministry of Defence said in a statement that several IS caves and ammunition caches were destroyed by the giant bomb, which terrified villagers on both sides of the Afghanistan-Pakistan border with its "earsplitting blast".

Pentagon officials described it as the "mother of all bombs".

The US maintains over 8,000 troops in Afghanistan, training local forces and conducting counter-terrorism operations.

Over the past year they have largely concentrated on a surge of attacks by the Taliban but on Friday the US military appeared entirely focused on IS.

"This is the right weapon for the right target," said US general John W Nicholson, Nato commander in Afghanistan.

The bomb, known officially as a GBU-43B, or massive ordnance air blast weapon, unleashes 11 tons of explosives.

US president Donald Trump called Thursday’s operation a "very, very successful mission".

General Daulat Waziri, of the Afghanistan Ministry of Defence, said 36 IS fighters were killed by the blast and the death toll could rise.

This image made from a Thursday, April 13, 2017 video released by the U.S. Department of Defense shows a GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb strike on an Islamic State militant cave and tunnel systems in the Achin district of the Nangarhar Province in eastern Afghanistan.

He said the bombing was necessary because the tunnel complex was extremely hard to penetrate, with some as deep as 40m.

"It was a strong position and four times we had operations (attacking the site) and it was not possible to advance," he said, adding that the road leading to the complex "was full of mines".

Pakistani villagers living near the Afghan border said the explosion was so loud they thought a bomb had been dropped in their village by US planes targeting terrorists in Pakistan.

"I was sleeping when we heard a loud explosion. It was an ear-splitting blast," said Shah Wali, 46, who lives in the village of Goor Gari, 15 km (9 miles) from the border with Nangarhar.

"I jumped from my bed and came out of my home to see what has gone wrong in our village."

Mufti Khan, a resident of Achin in Nangarhar, said: "The whole house was shaking. When I came out of my house I saw a large fire and the whole area was burning."

Another Achin resident, Mohammad Hakim, voiced his approval, saying: "We are very happy and these kinds of bombs should be used in future as well, so Daesh is rooted out from here."

Daesh is the Arabic acronym for Islamic State.

"They killed our women, youths and elders sitting them on mines. We also ask the Kabul government to use even stronger weapons against them," Mr Hakim added.

The US estimates 600 to 800 IS fighters are present in Afghanistan, mostly in Nangarhar.

Inamullah Meyakhil, spokesman for the central hospital in eastern Nangarhar province, said it had received no dead or wounded from the attack.

District governor Ismail Shinwari said there is no civilian property near the strike location.

The Site Intelligence Group, which tracks extremist organisations, reported a statement from the Afghan Taliban condemning the US for its "terrorist" attack.

The statement said it is the responsibility of Afghans, not the US, to remove Islamic State from the country.</s>A US military strike with a weapon known as the “mother of all bombs” (MOAB) killed 36 IS militants and destroyed their base, the Afghan defense ministry says. The most powerful non-nuclear bomb ever used by the US in combat was dropped on IS tunnels in Nangarhar province. No civilians were affected by the explosion, the ministry said.

Chief Executive of Afghanistan Abdullah Abdullah confirmed that the US attack had been carried out in co-ordination with the government and that great care had been taken to avoid civilian harm.

In a press briefing on Friday, Gen John Nicholson, commander of US forces in Afghanistan, said: We have US forces at the site and we see no evidence of civilian casualties nor have there been reports.

The Afghan defense ministry said the bomb struck a village area in the Momand valley where IS fighters were using a 300m-long network of caves. It said the 9,800kg bomb also destroyed a large stash of weapon

Presidential spokesman Shah Hussain Murtazawi revealed that IS commander Siddiq Yar was among those killed. Mr Murtazawi said the IS fighters in the tunnels had come from Pakistan and were persecuting people in the local area.

The GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast Bomb was dropped by plane in Achin district on Thursday evening local time, the Pentagon said. More than 9 meters in length, it was first tested in 2003 but had not been deployed in combat before.

General Nicholson said it was the right weapon against the right target and it was the right time to use the GBU-43 tactically. He added: Let me be clear - we will not relent in our mission to destroy [IS in Afghanistan]... There will be no sanctuary for terrorists in Afghanistan.

Nangarhar Provincial Governor Gulab Mangal said IS fighters had used the complex to kill people and hold important meetings.

IS announced the establishment of its Khorasan branch - an old name for Afghanistan and surrounding areas - in January 2015. It was the first time that IS had officially spread outside the Arab world. It was the first major militant group to directly challenge the Afghan Taliban's dominance over the local insurgency.

However, experts say it has struggled to build a wide political base and the indigenous support it expected. It has steadily lost territory and fighters to US air strikes and an assault by Afghan forces on the ground.

Estimates about IS's numerical strength inside Afghanistan vary, ranging from several hundred to a few thousand fighters. US forces say their number has been cut in half since early 2016 due to military operations.

The MOAB strike followed last week's death of a US special forces soldier fighting IS in Nangarhar.</s>A US strike on so-called Islamic State in Afghanistan using the "mother of all bombs" killed at least 36 militants, the country's defence ministry has said.

The Pentagon confirmed the GBU-43 was dropped on caves in Nangarhar Province, very close to the border with Pakistan, on Thursday.

Its nickname is based on the acronym used by the US Air Force, which calls it the Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb.

The White House confirmed the "large, powerful and accurately delivered weapon" was dropped around 7pm local time.

Afghan defence minister spokesman Dawlat Waziri said no civilians were harmed in the strike, a claim that has not been independently verified.

"No civilian has been hurt and only the base which Daesh used to launch attacks in other parts of the province, was destroyed," Waziri said.</s>As many as 36 suspected Islamic State militants were killed in Afghanistan when the United States dropped “the mother of all bombs,” its largest non-nuclear device ever unleashed in combat, the Afghan Defence Ministry said on Friday.

The claims have not been independently verified, but ministry spokesman Dawlat Waziri said no civilians were harmed in Thursday’s massive blast that targeted a network of caves and tunnels.

“No civilian has been hurt and only the base which Daesh used to launch attacks in other parts of the province, was destroyed,” Waziri said in a statement, using an Arabic term for Islamic State, which has established a small stronghold in eastern Afghanistan and launched deadly attacks on the capital, Kabul.</s>The US military’s largest non-nuclear bomb killed at least 36 militants as it decimated a deep tunnel complex of the Islamic State group, Afghan officials said on Friday, ruling out any civilian casualties.

The GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb -- better known as the “Mother Of All Bombs” -- hit IS hideouts in Achin district in eastern Nangarhar province on Thursday.

“As a result of the bombing, key Daesh (IS) hideouts and deep tunnel complex were destroyed and 36 IS fighters were killed,” the defence ministry said in a statement.

US President Donald Trump had earlier called the mission “very, very successful”.

The Afghan presidential palace said precautions were taken to avoid civilian casualties.
• None Indian IS recruit dies in Afghanistan, unclear if ‘mother of all bombs’ killed him
• None World’s biggest bombs: India’s SPICE no match for America’s MOAB or Russian FOAB

The huge bomb, delivered via an MC-130 transport plane, has a blast yield equivalent to 11 tons of TNT, and the weapon was originally designed as much to intimidate foes as to clear broad areas.

“The GBU-43/B is the largest non-nuclear bomb ever deployed in combat,” Air Force spokesman Colonel Pat Ryder said.

Achin district governor Esmail Shinwari said the bomb landed in the Momand Dara area of Achin district.

“The explosion was the biggest I have ever seen. Towering flames engulfed the area,” Shinwari told AFP.

“We don’t know anything about the casualties so far, but since it is a Daesh (IS) stronghold we think a lot of Daesh fighters may have been killed.”
• None US drops GBU-43 bomb in Afghanistan: What we know about the ‘mother of all bombs’
• None Donald Trump hails US military after ‘Mother Of All Bombs’ dropped in Afghanistan

Nangarhar, which borders Pakistan, is a hotbed of IS militancy. US forces have conducted a number of air strikes on jihadist bases in the area since August last year.

IS, notorious for its reign of terror in Syria and Iraq, has been making inroads into Afghanistan in recent years. It has attracted disaffected members of the Pakistani and Afghan Taliban as well as Uzbek Islamists.

But the group has been steadily losing territory in the face of heavy pressure both from US air strikes and a ground offensive led by Afghan forces.</s>US ‘Mother of All Bombs’ killed 36 Islamic State militants in Afghanistan

The GBU-43/B, also known as the Massive Ordnance Air Blast, detonates during a test at Elgin Air Force Base, Florida November 21, 2003 in this handout photo provided April 13, 2017. — Reuters picKABUL, April 14 — As many as 36 suspected Islamic State militants were killed in Afghanistan when the United States dropped “the Mother of All Bombs,” its largest non-nuclear device ever unleashed in combat, the Afghan defence ministry said today.

Yesterday's strike came as US President Donald Trump dispatches his first high-level delegation to Kabul, amid uncertainty about his plans for the nearly 9,000 American troops stationed in Afghanistan.

The deaths have not been independently verified, but ministry spokesman Dawlat Waziri said no civilians were harmed in the massive blast that targeted a network of caves and tunnels.

“No civilian has been hurt and only the base, which Daesh used to launch attacks in other parts of the province, was destroyed,” Waziri said in a statement.

He was using an Arabic term that refers to Islamic State, which has established a small stronghold in eastern Afghanistan and launched deadly attacks on the capital, Kabul.

The 21,600-pound (9,797-kg) GBU-43 bomb, which has 11 tons of explosives, was dropped from a MC-130 aircraft in the Achin district of the eastern province of Nangarhar, bordering Pakistan, Pentagon spokesman Adam Stump said yesterday.

The device, also known as the “Mother of All Bombs,” is a GPS-guided munition that had never before been used in combat since its first test in 2003, when it produced a mushroom cloud visible from 32 km away.

Former Afghan president Hamid Karzai condemned the use of the weapon on Afghan soil.

“This is not the war on terror, but the inhuman and most brutal misuse of our country as testing ground for new and dangerous weapons,” he said on social media network Twitter.

At a village about five km from the remote, mountainous area where the bomb was dropped, homes and shops appeared unaffected by the blast, a Reuters witness said.

Residents said they saw militants climbing up and down the mountain every day, making occasional visits to the village.

“They were Arabs, Pakistanis, Chinese and local insurgents coming to buy from shops in the bazaar,” said resident Raz Mohammad.

Today, the village was swarming with Afghan and international troops, as helicopters and other aircraft flew overhead.

The strike was part of a joint operation between Afghan and international troops, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani's office said in a statement.

“Afghan and foreign troops closely coordinated this operation and were extra cautious to avoid any civilian casualties,” it said.

American officials said the bomb had been positioned for possible use in Afghanistan for “some time” since the administration of former president Barack Obama.

The United States has steadily intensified its air campaign against Islamic State and Taliban militants in Afghanistan, with the Air Force deploying nearly 500 weapons in the first three months of 2017, up from 300 in the corresponding 2016 period. — Reuters
The Afghan Ministry of Defense reports as many as 36 suspected ISIL militants were killed while no civilians were harmed in yesterday's bombing in Nangarhar Province using the so-called "mother of all bombs" (GBU-43). The ministry spokesman added these deaths have not been independently verified.