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1st LD: U.S. massive bomb kills 36 IS militants in Afghan province

Xinhua, April 14, 2017 Adjust font size:

At least 36 Islamic State (IS) militants were killed after the U.S. forces in Afghanistan struck their position with a large bomb in eastern Nangarhar province, the Afghan Defense Ministry said on Friday morning.

On Thursday evening, the U.S. military dropped a GBU-43 or Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB) bomb, the largest non-nuclear bomb, on an IS cave complex in Ahcin District, Nangahar Province bordering Pakistan.

"The strike has destroyed three IS hideouts along with several bunkers and deep tunnels as well as huge amount of weapons and ammunition," the Afghan Defense Ministry said in a statement.

No civilian was hurt following the raid, the statement noted.

The strike was designed to minimize the risk to Afghan and U.S. forces conducting clearing operations in the area while maximizing the destruction of IS fighters and facilities, the U.S. Forces-Afghanistan, which is part of NATO-led Resolute Support said after the strike.

"U.S. forces took every precaution to avoid civilian casualties with this strike. U.S. forces will continue offensive operations until ISIS-K is destroyed in Afghanistan," it said.

Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani has hailed the attack on the IS position. Enditem