US Forces-Afghanistan Assessing MOAB Bomb Strike in Afghanistan

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The US Forces-Afghanistan (USFA) is assessing the effects of the GBU-43 Massive Ordnance Air Blast Bomb (MAOB) dropped on Thursday on  Daesh terror group (banned in Russia) stronghold in Afghanistan, USFA spokesman Bill Salvin stated.

"We are currently assessing the outcome of the strike," Salvin stated on Thursday. "[T]he strike was conducted to eliminate significant ISIS-K [Daesh] defensive fighting positions, including an extensive cave-tunnel system linked to multiple structures that supported ISIS-K operations."

Earlier in the day, the Pentagon confirmed that the GBU-43 bomb was dropped in the Nangarhar province.

"At 7:32 pm local time today, US Forces — Afghanistan conducted a strike on an ISIS-K tunnel [Daesh] complex in Achin district, Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, as part of ongoing efforts to defeat ISIS-K in Afghanistan in 2017," the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a press release. "The strike used a GBU-43 bomb dropped from a US aircraft."

Dollowinf the strike, President Trump labeled the event a "success," saying he was "very, very proud of the military."

The GRU-43/B is a conventional warhead weighing 22,600 pounds (10,300 kg) designed during the Iraq War.