Last Modified: Fri, Apr 14 2017. 01 31 PM IST

US ‘mother of all bombs’ killed 36 Islamic State militants in Afghanistan

US military’s largest non-nuclear bomb killed 36 Islamic State militants but no civilian death took place, say Afghan officials

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Josh Smith
As a result of the bombing, key IS hideouts and deep tunnel complex were destroyed, Afghanistan’s defence ministry stated. Photo:  AFP
As a result of the bombing, key IS hideouts and deep tunnel complex were destroyed, Afghanistan’s defence ministry stated. Photo: AFP

Kabul: As many as 36 suspected Islamic State militants were killed in Afghanistan when the United States dropped “the mother of all bombs,” its largest non-nuclear device ever unleashed in combat, the Afghan Defence Ministry said on Friday.

The claims have not been independently verified, but ministry spokesman Dawlat Waziri said no civilians were harmed in Thursday’s massive blast that targeted a network of caves and tunnels.

Also Read: Afghan bomb dropping sends clear message to ISIS: US lawmakers

“No civilian has been hurt and only the base which Daesh used to launch attacks in other parts of the province, was destroyed,” Waziri said in a statement, using an Arabic term for Islamic State, which has established a small stronghold in eastern Afghanistan and launched deadly attacks on the capital, Kabul. Reuters

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First Published: Fri, Apr 14 2017. 11 47 AM IST