U.S. uses 'mother of all bombs' for first time in Afghanistan

The US department of defense released some new footage of a bomb being dropped in Afghan territory on Thursday, April 13, 2017. The bomb was dropped in Nangarhar, an eastern province of Afghanistan is being dubbed "the mother of all bombs" because of the magnitude of its explosion. In trending news, The bomb is also said to be the largest, nonnuclear bomb ever used in an attack and is said to be 21,000 pounds, made up of 11 tons of TNT. It was decided that the GBU-43 bomb would be dropped as a tactical move as part of the campaign against the Islamic State fighters. It's said that around 36 Islamic soldiers were killed in the bombing, but no civilians were hurt or killed. Donald Trump president of the US, made the decision to deploy the bomb while he also prepares to deliver his high-level delegation to Kabul. Both Afghan and US troops that were on site at the time of the hit said that the bomb "achieved it's intended purpose" which was to destroy the base where Islamic fighters had been using to launch attacks in other areas in the province. The Islamic State has established a small fort in eastern Afghanistan and has launched deadly attacks on Kabul, which is the capital.

People who live in a nearby town, 3 miles away from the site of the bomb explosion said that they felt the ground shake, but all of the homes and shops remained undisturbed. One man said that it was like a thunder and lightening storm which is sadly actually a very familiar sight and sound to the residents living in the war-torn area. Some of the local people were actually okay with the bomb being dropped and even welcomed it if it means getting rid of the Islamic group. There are opposing opinions though, and one man from Kabul suggested that "the US may simply be using the land to test their bomb and that if they want to eliminate the Daesh," which is an Arabic term for the Islamic State, "it would be easy because they created this group." But according to Afghan President Ashraf Ghani's office, these attacks against the Islamic State are a joint operation of Afghan and international troops including US, Arab, Pakistani, and Chinese soldiers. American officials have claimed that the GBU-43 bomb had been considered for use in Afghanistan for a while after Barack Obama stepped out of office as president.

The US has been consistent about intensifying their crusade against the Islamic State and Taliban militants. The US Air Force has deployed almost 500 weapons within three months in 2017, compared to 300 from the first three months of 2016. For the first time since 2006, B-52 bombers completed at least two missions in Afghanistan last year. In March this year, US troops did a total of 79 "counterterror strikes" against Islamic State in Nangarhar, which killed up to 200 militants and they estimate that there could be up to 600 to 800 Islamic State soldiers in Afghanistan, mostly in Nangarhar. Of course, there are concerns whenever there is an attack of any kind, and the United Nations is worried that the crusade will cause more civilian casualties. Sadly, last year the strikes caused 127 civilian deaths as well as 108 injuries, which is an increase from the deaths that occurred in 2015. Either way, people are dying, and it's troubling to think of all the devastation any attack causes. To find out more about the trending news, watch the new video on Reuters which features Donald Trump president of the US and footage of the bomb's explosion.***