Afghanistan: Death toll from MOAB attack revised to 92

By Shadi Khan Saif

KABUL, Afghanistan

The Afghan authorities have revised the death toll from Thursday’s Mother of All Bombs (MOAB) attack by the U.S. on Daesh hideouts to 92 on Saturday.

The provincial government of Nangarhar province in the east of the country where this bomb was dropped, said on Saturday that the latest estimates suggest that the damage inflicted upon the militants is much more than initially believed. A day earlier, the Ministry of Defense (MoD) said 36 Daesh fighters have been killed, and a network of caves and tunnels in the rigid mountainous spot in Achin district were destroyed.

Attaullah Khogyani, spokesman for the Nangarhar government, said an intense clean-up operation has begun in Achin following this attack. He confirmed the latest death toll.

According to the U.S. Forces Afghanistan, the bomb was dropped at 7:32 p.m. local time (02:58 GMT) Thursday on a tunnel complex in Achin district of Nangarhar province. Officially known as a GBU-43B, or massive ordnance air blast weapon, the MOAB unleashes 11 tons of explosives.

This unprecedented use of power has stirred mix reaction in Afghanistan. The Kabul government immediately hailed the move and pronounced it useful in ensuring success for the Afghan and the U.S. forces eliminating the Daesh militants. Those in favor of the attack said the MOAB was the only way to dismantle the cave complex, landmines and tunnels. Locals in Nangarhar, particularly those who have first-hand-knowledge of the Daesh atrocities have welcomed the attack.

Others, including the former President Hamid Karzai, the Taliban, and the Afghan Ambassador to Pakistan Hazrat Ummer Zakhilwal, have denounced this massive display of power. Pronouncing the bomb an attack on the sovereignty, Karzai has urged all Afghans to stand against it.