Mixed reaction over Nangarhar bombing

At least 94 IS fighters were killed in Afghanistan by “the mother of all bombs,” the largest non-nuclear weapon ever used in combat by the US military. The US strike using the Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb, or MOAB, on a tunnel complex in remote eastern Nangarhar province near the Pakistan border killed four IS group leaders too. The bomb unleashed 11 tons of explosives. There is no report of civilians being killed in the attack.
Afghanistan forces had carried out assaults in a bid to dismantle tunnel network and to cripple extremists’ ability to consolidate their power in the region. According to an estimate, more than 600-800 IS fighters are in Afghanistan, mostly in Nangarhar. The US government has focused its fight on IS extremists while also supporting Afghan forces against the Taliban. More than 8,000 US troops are in Afghanistan, training local forces and conducting counterterrorism operations. Commander of US forces in Afghanistan Gen. John W Nicholson said the strike was designed to minimize the risk to Afghan and US forces conducting clearing operations in the Achin area while maximizing the destruction of IS fighters and facilities.
But the US attack on IS using the bomb, known as a GBU-43B, has drawn mixed reactions. Former Afghan president Hamid Karzai fiercely attacked both the Afghan and US governments for the attack in Nangarhar. He accused President Ashraf Ghani of “national treason” and insult to Afghanistan for allowing the US to carry out the bombing. Karzai said bombing was not for war on terror, rather an inhuman and most brutal misuse of Afghanistan as testing ground for new and dangerous weapons. He said it is upon Afghans to stop the USA. Afghanistan’s ambassador to Pakistan, Omar Zakhilwal, called the use of ‘mother of all bombs,’ reprehensible and counterproductive. He said if big bombs were the solution Afghanistan would be the most secure place on earth.
On the other hand, President Ghani and Afghan people have welcomed the move. Ghani said there was “close coordination” between the US military and the Afghan government on the operation, and they were careful to prevent any civilian casualties. The Afghan Defense Ministry said in a statement that the bomb destroyed several IS caves and ammunition caches. The ministry said the bombing was necessitated by the fact that the complex was extremely hard to penetrate, with some tunnels as deep as 40 meters. The residents of the area rejoiced the move. They want Kabul government to use even stronger weapons against extremists for killing innocent civilians, including women, youths and elders, sitting them on mines.
Obama wanted to pull out most US troops from Afghanistan before leaving office, but couldn’t do so because of Taliban gains and the inability of Afghan forces to fight on their own. The US administration’s move, which comes in the wake of missile strikes against Syrian air bases and amid rising tension in Korean Peninsula, underlines Trump’s vow for a more aggressive campaign against the Taliban and IS group. Trump deserves a pat on the back for renewed focus on the Afghanistan as Taliban forces continue to gain ground and IS finds new sanctuary in the war-ravaged country.