U.S Bombing of Afghanistan

Why in news?

United States dropped one of the largest non-nuclear devices ever unleashed in combat over Afghanistan, killing 90 suspected Islamic State militants.

What is the reason for the attack?

• The bomb was dropped in the Achin district of the eastern province that borders Pakistan.
• The strike was part of a joint operation by Afghan and international troops.
• It targeted a network of caves, tunnels and ammunition caches.
• The deaths have not been independently verified, but the Afghan Defence Ministry said no civilians were harmed in it.
• The strike came as U.S. President dispatches his first high-level delegation to Kabul to decide the future of nearly 9,000 American troops stationed in Afghanistan.

What is the significance of the bomb?

• The 9,797-kg GBU-43 bomb or Massive Ordnance Air Blast Weapon (MOAB) was dropped from an MC-130 aircraft.
• It unleashes 11 tons of explosives.
• The device, also known as the “mother of all bombs,” is a GPS-guided ammunition that had never before been used in combat before.
• The bomb's destructive power, equivalent to 11 tonnes of TNT.
• Atomic bombs dropped on Japan at the end of World War II had blasts equivalent to between 15,000 and 20,000 tonnes of TNT.
•  The Israel-manufactured SPICE (smart precise impact and cost effective) bomb is the biggest conventional bomb that can be delivered by the Indian Air Force via Mirage 2000 fighters.

What was the reaction?

• American lawmakers have applauded by saying that “it sends a clear message” to terror groups in the region.
• Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai and the Taliban condemned the use of the bomb in Afghan soil.
• The United States has steadily intensified its air campaign against Islamic State and Taliban militants in Afghanistan.
• The United Nations has raised concerns that the American air campaign is swelling civilian casualties in Afghanistan.
• Last year air strikes by the military coalition caused at least 127 civilian deaths and 108 injuries, up from 103 deaths and 67 injuries in 2015, the U.N. says.
• U.S Air Force deployed nearly 500 weapons in the first three months of 2017.

Source: The Hindu