Nangarhar officials on Saturday revised the death toll in Thursday night’s bombing in Achin district in Nangarhar, stating at least 94 militants had been killed in the incident including four of their top commanders.

Nangarhar police said that the bombing destroyed Daesh hideouts, tunnels and weapon caches.

Hamza Abobakr; Hamid; Mohammad Abrani and Walkin, Hafiz Saeed’s brother, were reportedly among the dead Daesh militants killed in the bombing.

As the biggest non-nuclear bomb to be used in combat, the Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB), also commonly known as the Mother of All Bombs, was dropped by U.S Forces on Achin district in Nangarhar Thursday night as part of ongoing efforts to eradicate Daesh.

The move by U.S Forces on Thursday night, targeting an important stronghold of Daesh, has been met with mixed reactions by Afghans.

A number of Kabul residents however saw this as a positive step, saying they believe after this U.S Forces will step up efforts to fight insurgents.

Others sharply criticized the move and condemned the U.S’s actions, saying foreign forces should target insurgent strongholds outside Afghanistan.

Former president Hamid Karzai slammed government over the move and said it had been nothing more than a weapons of mass destruction test and that it had been in violation of Afghanistan’s national sovereignty.</s>The death toll of America's 'mother of all bombs' attack on Afghanistan has risen to 94 ISIS members including four terrorist leaders, an Afghan official said.

Ataullah Khogyani, spokesman for the provincial governor in Nangarhar, said the number of Islamic State group dead was up from the 36 reported a day earlier.

A Ministry of Defense official said on Friday that the number of dead could rise as officials assessed the bomb site in Achin district.

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

But the increased death toll in Nangarhar was announced as officials in southern Helmand province reported that at least 11 civilians were killed and one wounded in two roadside bomb blasts overnight.

The US attack on a tunnel complex in remote eastern Nangarhar province near the Pakistan border killed at least four IS group leaders, Mr Khogyani said.

He said a clearance operation to assess the site of the attack was continuing.

The strike using the Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb, or MOAB, known as the Mother Of All Bombs, was carried out Thursday against an Islamic State group tunnel complex carved into the mountains which Afghan forces had tried to assault repeatedly in recent weeks during fierce fighting in Nangarhar province.

On Saturday, former Afghan president Hamid Karzai criticized both the Afghan and US governments for the attack.

Addressing a gathering in the capital, Kabul, Mr Karzai said that allowing the US to carry out the bombing was 'a national treason' and an insult to Afghanistan.

Current President Ashraf Ghani's office said on Friday that there was 'close co-ordination' between the US military and the Afghan government on the operation, and they were careful to prevent any civilian casualties.

President Donald Trump called it a 'very, very successful mission' and some Afghan residents have welcomed the blast and even called for more.

The US estimates 600-800 IS fighters are in Afghanistan, mostly in Nangarhar. America has concentrated on fighting them while also supporting Afghan forces against the Taliban. The US has more than 8,000 US troops in Afghanistan, training local forces and conducting counter-terrorism operations.</s>An Afghan official says the number of militants killed in an attack by the largest non-nuclear weapon ever used in combat by the U.S. military has risen to 94. (Source: Raycom Media)

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - The number of militants killed in an attack by the largest non-nuclear weapon ever used in combat by the U.S. military has risen to 94, an Afghan official said Saturday.

Ataullah Khogyani, spokesman for the provincial governor in Nangarhar, said the number of Islamic State group dead was up from the 36 reported a day earlier. A Ministry of Defense official had said Friday the number of dead could rise as officials assessed the bomb site in Achin district.

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

The increased death toll in Nangarhar was announced as officials in southern Helmand province reported at least 11 civilians were killed and one wounded in two roadside bomb blasts overnight.

The U.S. attack on a tunnel complex in remote eastern Nangarhar province near the Pakistan border killed at least four IS group leaders, Khogyani said. He said a clearance operation to assess the site of the attack was continuing.

The strike using the Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb, or MOAB, was carried out Thursday against an Islamic State group tunnel complex carved into the mountains that Afghan forces had tried to assault repeatedly in recent weeks in fierce fighting in Nangarhar province.

Former Afghan president Hamid Karzai on Saturday criticized both the Afghan and U.S. governments for the attack in Nangarhar. Addressing a gathering in capital Kabul, Karzai said that allowing the U.S. to carry out the bombing was "treason" and an insult to Afghanistan.

Current President Ashraf Ghani's office said Friday there was "close coordination" between the U.S. military and the Afghan government on the operation, and they were careful to prevent any civilian casualties.

The U.S. estimates 600-800 IS fighters are in Afghanistan, mostly in Nangarhar. The U.S. has concentrated on fighting them while also supporting Afghan forces against the Taliban. The U.S. has more than 8,000 US troops in Afghanistan, training local forces and conducting counterterrorism operations.

In Helmand province, at least 11 civilians were killed and one wounded in two roadside bomb blasts late Friday evening, said Omar Zwak, spokesman for the provincial governor.

"All victims of the attack were innocent civilians including women and children," said Zwak. The 11 died in a blast in Nawa district when their vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb. Another person was wounded when a second bomb exploded in Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand, he said.

Also on Saturday, Khogyani said a district leader and three others were wounded when their vehicle was targeted by a bomb. One of the wounded was Ghalib Mujahid, Bati Kot district chief, he said.

"The district chief and others are out of danger and are not in life-threatening condition," he said.

Last November, Mujahid was attacked by a sticky bomb attached to the vehicle and he was wounded and his driver was killed.

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.</s>The number of militants killed in an attack by the largest non-nuclear weapon ever used in combat by the U.S. military has risen to 94, an Afghan official said Saturday.

Ataullah Khogyani, spokesman for the provincial governor in Nangarhar, said the number of Islamic State group dead was up from the 36 reported a day earlier. A Ministry of Defense official had said Friday the number of dead could rise as officials assessed the bomb site in Achin district.

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

The U.S. attack on a tunnel complex in remote eastern Nangarhar province near the Pakistan border killed at least four IS group leaders, Khogyani said. He said a clearance operation to assess the site of the attack was continuing.

The strike using the Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb, or MOAB, was carried out Thursday against an Islamic State group tunnel complex carved into the mountains that Afghan forces had tried to assault repeatedly in recent weeks in fierce fighting in Nangarhar province.

Former Afghan president Hamid Karzai on Saturday criticized both the Afghan and U.S. governments for the attack in Nangarhar. Addressing a gathering in capital Kabul, Karzai said that allowing the U.S. to carry out the bombing in Nangarhar was “a national treason” and an insult to Afghanistan.

The office of current President Ashraf Ghani said Friday there was “close coordination” between the U.S. military and the Afghan government on the operation, and they were careful to prevent any civilian casualties.

The U.S. estimates 600-800 IS fighters are in Afghanistan, mostly in Nangarhar. The U.S. has concentrated on fighting them while also supporting Afghan forces against the Taliban. The U.S. has more than 8,000 US troops in Afghanistan, training local forces and conducting counterterrorism operations.

Also on Saturday, Khogyani said a district leader and three others were wounded when their vehicle was targeted by a bomb. One of the wounded was Ghalib Mujahid, Bati Kot district chief, he said.

“The district chief and others are out of danger and are not in life-threatening condition,” he said.

Last November, Mujahid was attacked by a sticky bomb attached to the vehicle and he was wounded and his driver was killed.

For all the latest World News, download Indian Express App now</s>Afghan officials say the number of Islamic State (IS) group fighters killed in an attack by the most powerful nonnuclear weapon ever used in combat by the U.S. military has risen to 94.

The GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb -- dubbed the Mother Of All Bombs -- was deployed in combat for the first time on April 13, hitting IS positions in eastern Nangarhar Province.

Provincial Governor Muhammad Ismail Shinwari said on April 15 that four key commanders were among the militants killed. Shinwari said no civilian casualties were inflicted as civilians living in the area of the bombing had been evacuated by the Afghan military.

Shinwari's spokesman, Ataullah Khogyani, said that a clearance operation in the area was continuing.

Afghanistan's Defense Ministry reported on April 14 that 36 IS fighters had been killed in the bombing in Achin district, which targeted a tunnel complex used a as a command center and ammuntions depot by the IS which had been mined against conventional ground attacks.

 

 The massive bomb was deployed after fighting intensified over the past week and U.S.-backed ground forces struggled to advance on the area, where a U.S. special forces soldier was killed on April 8.

 

 The blast triggered shock waves in Afghanistan, with some condemning the use of Afghanistan as what they called a testing ground for the weapon, and against a militant group that is not considered a threat as big as the resurgent Taliban.

 

 President Ashraf Ghani voiced his support for the bombing, saying it was executed in coordination with Afghanistan's government and was "designed to support the efforts of the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) and U.S. forces conducting clearance operations in the region."

 

 But some critics called the action "disproportionate."

Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai condemned the use of the bomb 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 Twitter.

 

 IS has made inroads into Afghanistan in recent years, attracting disaffected members of the Pakistani and Afghan Taliban as well as Uzbek Islamists.

But the militant group has been steadily losing ground in the face of heavy pressure both from U.S. air strikes and a ground offensive conducted by the Afghan military.

With additional reporting by AP, dpa, and AFP</s>Former Afghan president Hamid Karzai speaks during an interview in Kabul, Afghanistan September 13, 2016. Picture taken on September 13, 2016. REUTERS/Omar Sobhani/Files

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 defence 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. [nL3N1HM1WB]

"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."

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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.

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.

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 number of ISIS militants killed in Thursday’s U.S. military strike in the Nangarhar province of Afghanistan, using the Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB) bomb, has reportedly risen to 94, an Afghan official revealed on Saturday. According to military sources, the 21,000 lb GBU-43 massive ordinance blast weapon used in the attack on Thursday was the largest non-nuclear weapon the U.S. military has ever used in combat.

The Associated Press reports that Ataullah Khogyani, a spokesperson for the governor of Afghanistan’s remote Nangarhar province, said in a statement released on Saturday that the number of ISIS militants who died in the “Mother Of All Bombs” attack launched on Thursday had risen from 36 reported on Friday to “at least 94.”

At least four ISIS military leaders were also killed in the attack, Khogyani claimed.

“Fortunately there is no report of civilians being killed in the attack,” he added.

The statement by the spokesperson for the governor of Nangarhar came after an Afghan Ministry of Defense official said on Friday that ongoing clearance and assessment of the bomb site in the Achin district of Nangarhar indicated that the number of dead could rise.

Khogyani said that the latest death figure was received from Afghan military personnel involved in clearance operations and assessment of the site following the massive blast attack. He added that the assessment was still ongoing, suggesting that the figure could rise further.

According to a previous statement by the U.S. military, the MOAB attack was targeted at a tunnel complex in the remote eastern Nangarhar province near the border with Pakistan where ISIS militants are known to be based. The bomb strike hit an extensive network of tunnels dug into the mountains. The attack was launched on Thursday after Afghan forces had tried repeatedly to capture the tunnels in fierce and prolonged fighting with ISIS militants in the province.

Soon after the attack, a U.S. commander in Afghanistan said that the bomb had achieved it intended purpose, implying that the tunnel had been destroyed.

“This weapon was used against Isis-K and their sanctuary inside Afghanistan,” NATO forces commander General John Nicholson said., according to the AP. “The purpose of this operation was to eliminate their sanctuary inside Southern Nangarhar. The weapon achieved its intended purpose.”

But ISIS later released a counter-statement denying that any of its militants were killed or injured in the blast attack.

And later on Saturday, during an address delivered at an event in Kabul, the capital city of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai, the former president of the country, criticized the Afghan government for allowing the U.S. military to launch the bomb attack. He said that allowing the U.S. military to launch such an attack in Nangarhar was an insult to Afghans. He added that the action amounted to what he termed “national treason.”

But the administration of President Ashraf Ghani had said earlier on Friday that the Afghan military authorities were working closely with U.S. military forces in the country to coordinate operations against ISIS militants based in the area. He also said that the operations were being conducted with care taken to prevent civilian casualties.

U.S. military authorities in Afghanistan estimate that ISIS could have up to 800 fighters in the country, with most operating in the remote eastern Nangarhar province. The U.S. forces in Afghanistan, about 8,000-strong, are involved with their Afghan counterparts in military operations against ISIS in the Nangarhar area, as well as against Taliban insurgents operating in the country.

U.S. personnel in the country are engaged mostly in training local forces and carrying out counter-terrorism operations, according to the AP.

The MOAB weapon used on Thursday is a GPS-guided weapon that was first tested in 2003 and has not been used in combat since them. The weapon’s blast generates a mushroom cloud that can be seen from about 20 kilometers away.</s>KABUL (CNN) -- At least 94 Islamic State fighters were killed when the US military dropped America's most powerful non-nuclear bomb on ISIS targets in Afghanistan, an Afghan official said Saturday.

"The number of Daesh fighters killed in the US bomb in Achin district jumped to 94, including four commanders," Nangarhar provincial spokesman Attaullah Khogiani told CNN, using an alternative name for ISIS.

"Our team is in the area and they are doing clearance, so the figure might change as they find more bodies," said Dawlat Waziri, a spokesman for the Afghan Ministry of Defense.

The initial toll given by Afghan officials for Thursday's strike was 36. A statement released Friday through ISIS' media wing, Amaq News Agency, said none of the terror group's fighters were killed or injured. CNN cannot independently confirm the number of casualties.

The GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast Bomb (MOAB), nicknamed the "mother of all bombs" for its extraordinary force, was dropped at 7:32 p.m. local time Thursday, according to four US military officials with direct knowledge of the mission.

The strike targeted a network of fortified underground tunnels that ISIS had been using to stage attacks on government forces in Nangarhar province, near the Pakistan border.

The blast destroyed three underground tunnels as well as weapons and ammunition, but no civilians were hurt, Afghan and US officials said.

US military: 'Right weapon, right target'

The US military defended its decision when it was quizzed Friday on whether the 21,600-pound behemoth was necessary for that particular target.

The 30-foot-long, GPS-guided bomb is capable of destroying an area equivalent to nine city blocks.

"This was the right weapon against the right target," Gen. John Nicholson, commander for US forces in Afghanistan, said at a news conference.

"It was the right time to use it tactically against the right target on the battlefield."

The US military previously estimated ISIS had 600 to 800 active fighters in the area.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said he approved of the strike, and it was designed to support Afghan and US forces conducting clearance operations in the region.

But former President Hamid Karzai accused the United States of using Afghanistan as "a testing ground for new and dangerous weapons."

President Donald Trump said this week he would be sending his new national security adviser, Lt. Gen. HR McMaster, to Afghanistan "to find out how we can make progress alongside our Afghan partners and NATO allies."

White House officials won't detail precisely when that visit will take place but say it will come "soon."

Trump described the Afghanistan bombing as "another very, very successful mission." It came a week after he authorized a US missile strike against a Syrian government air base -- the first US strike against the Syrian government in the country's six-year civil war.

Residents in Afghan villages near the target area felt Thursday's powerful strike.

One resident living around 2 kilometers (1.5 miles) from the blast told CNN he heard an "extremely loud boom that smashed the windows of our house."

"We were all scared, and my children and my wife were crying. We thought it had happened right in front of our house," he said.

"I have witnessed a countless number of explosions and bombings in the last 30 years of war in Afghanistan, but this one was more powerful than any other bomb as far as I remember."

Hamdullah Mohib, Afghanistan's ambassador to the United States, said the colossal MOAB was dropped after fighting had intensified over the last week. US and Afghan forces had been unable to advance because ISIS -- which has expanded into Afghanistan in recent years -- had mined the area with explosives.

Locals told CNN that more than 3,000 families had fled the district in the past year or so since the militant group established its presence.

One man, who did not want to give his name for fear of ISIS retaliation, said there were no civilians left in the area the group controlled.

The region butts up against the porous Pakistan border. The rocky landscape is dotted with caves and defensive tunnels, making it easy to hold and hard to attack, according to Nic Robertson, CNN's international diplomatic editor, who has reported from the Afghan mountains.</s>KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - An Afghan official says the number of militants killed in an attack by the largest non-nuclear weapon ever used in combat by the U.S. military has risen to 94.

Ataullah Khogyani, spokesman for the provincial governor in Nangarhar, said Saturday the number of Islamic State group dead was up from the 36 reported a day earlier.

A Ministry of Defense official had said Friday that the number of dead could rise as officials assessed the bomb site in Achin district.

The U.S. attack on a tunnel complex in remote eastern Nangarhar province near the Pakistan border killed at least four IS group leaders, Khogyani said. He said a clearance operation was continuing.

There had been heavy fighting in the area in recent weeks between Afghan forces and IS militants.</s>Kabul, Afghanistan - An attack that saw the United States drop the largest non-nuclear bomb on Afghanistan was a "brutal act" against Afghan people, the environment and the country's sovereignty, Hamid Karzai, former president, has told Al Jazeera.

The 9,797kg GBU-43 Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB) was unleashed in combat for the first time on Thursday, targeting a complex of caves and tunnels used by ISIL fighters in Nangarhar province, according the US army.

Dubbed the "Mother Of All Bombs", the device can devastate the area around its landing of a radius of more than one mile (1.6km).

"This was an inhuman act, a brutal act against an innocent country, against innocent people, against our land, against our sovereignty, against our soil and against our future," Karzai said in Kabul.

"A bomb of that magnitude has consequences for the environment, for our lives, for our plants, for our water, for our soil - this is poison."

WATCH: What impact will MOAB have in the fight against ISIL?

At least 90 ISIL fighters were killed in the attack, according to the US and Afghan armies.

For the most part, Afghan officials welcomed the bombing, saying it was a step towards security. They have also said that there were no civilian casualties.

But Karzai, who was president from 2004 until 2014, said the the US should stop using Afghanistan as a "testing ground" and re-engage with Afghans towards a peaceful solution.

If these conditions are met, he said, "they [US] can stay on - if the Afghan people agree to it. If they continue this militant approach, this heavy-handed military approach in Afghanistan, then of course I want them out of the country."

The massive bomb was dropped after fighting intensified over the past week and US-backed ground forces struggled to advance on the area.

A US soldier was killed on April 8 in Nangarhar while conducting operations against ISIL, which stands for Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, and is also known as ISIS.

Karzai said he was speaking up because many Afghan officials - some of whom were part of his own cabinet - had endorsed the bombing.

"I considered it a treason and I stood up against them, and I will continue," he said.

"This poison will be there for years and years to come. How can we allow our country to be used this way And why? How many [ISIL fighters] have they killed, 100, 200, 300?

"Why should Afghanistan suffer in such a massive way with a bomb so big, so dangerous that they themselves call it the 'mother of all bombs'.

Karzai's time in office was at times plagued by accusations from the US of corruption and incompetence.

Fahim Dashty, a journalist, politician and political analyst, said that Karzai's comments were unlikely to be welcomed by the majority of Afghans, dismissing the former president's rhetoric as an attempt at "heroism".

"There were lots of problems while he was president of Afghanistan," Dashty told Al Jazeera from Kabul.

"At least for a decade, he was using US bodyguards to protect himself. Now he is talking about pushing the US to leave Afghanistan. This is something people will not believe."

On the bombing, Dashty said Afghans had little reason not to welcome the attack on ISIL targets.

"There wasn't any reports of civilian casualties in the last attack," he said.

"It was said that it was targeting ISIL leaders. As much as it targets terrorist groups, I think people will welcome it."
The death toll according to a Nangarhar official source now stands at 94 militants, including 4 commanders. Former president Hamid Karzai says the strike was in violation of national sovereignty.