Afghan officials say 36 ISIL militants killed in Mother of all Bombs strike

World Today

Afghanistan

Afghan officials say dozens of ISIL fighters were killed by the Pentagon’s massive bombing.

But ISIL denies anyone was killed or wounded in the strike. The U.S. unleashed the largest non-nuclear bomb drop ever used in American combat.

CGTN’s Daniel Ryntjes reports.
Follow Daniel Ryntjes on Twitter @danielryntjes

“The Mother of All Bombs” hit a mountainside in Nangarhar Province, eastern Afghanistan. 

The Afghan Defense Ministry said 36 militants were killed, though local officials and residents put the number much higher.

ISIL’s Amaq News Agency said no fighters were killed. The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, General John Nicholson, said it was an operational decision to support a joint U.S.-Afghan offensive.

“This is the right weapon against this target. The enemy had created bunkers, tunnels and extensive minefields and this weapon was used to reduce those obstacles so we can continue our offensive into southern Nangarhar.”

The militants are known as ISIL-K, which stands for “Khorasan.” It’s the term militants use for the area they want to fully control in that region, composed of former members of the Afghan and Pakistani Taliban.

U.S President Donald Trump’s National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster is heading to Afghanistan to evaluate strategic options – including how much of a force to commit to what remains America’s longest-running military conflict.