The U.S. military’s non-nuclear “mother of all bombs” (MOAB) hit the Islamic State in Afghanistan so hard that it cracked buildings in neighboring Pakistan.
Villagers complained to Dawn, a newspaper in Pakistan, that the bomb cracked numerous houses and a mosque in Malana village located in the foothills of the White Mountain, which serves as a border between the two countries.
The MOAB hit an ISIS base last Thursday in the foothills of the White Mountain on exactly the other side of the border in the Afghan province of Nangarhar, leaving 90 dead, though initial death tolls placed the number at only 36. Green Beret Staff Sgt. Mark De Alencar died of small arms fire in early April in the same province.
“We felt light shocks, but did not realise it was because of a bomb,” said Muhammad Hassan, one of the Malana villagers who spoke with Dawn.
Hassan complained that the bomb caused cracks in several houses and a mosque.
On the Afghanistan side, the bomb decimated a large network of underground tunnels and caves used by ISIS.
“The enemy had created bunkers, tunnels and extensive mine fields, and this weapon was used to reduce those obstacles so that we could continue our offensive in southern Nangarhar,” Army Gen. John Nicholson said.
Nicholson, the U.S. commander in Afghanistan, had authorization to use the bomb even before President Donald Trump even took office. The Air Force estimates that the bomb, developed by the Air Force Research Laboratory, costs approximately $170,000 to build.
An official who spoke on condition of anonymity with NBC News said that not only did Nicholson want to destroy tunnels and caves, but he also wanted to send a message to ISIS of his determination to eliminate the terror group.
No civilians were killed in the explosion, but a resident nearby told BBC that the blast destroyed some homes.
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