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AT News Report-KABUL: The United States is to turn Afghanistan into a polygon for testing its nuclear and other deadly weapons, said a political and military analyst.
The Thursday’s US aerial attack on a village in Nangarhar province that a 10-ton non-nuclear bomb was apparently dropped on the caves of the Daesh terrorist group has raised huge criticisms in the country.
“The usage of such bomb has no justification and will raise tough frictions both inside the country and abroad,” Retired Army General, Atiqullah Amarkhil told Afghanistan Times.
He said that the US by dropping this heavy bomb sent Russia where a meeting is going on that it has such military power, adding that the use of this bomb has more loss than achievement.
“Thousands of people will join the Taliban or Daesh rank, more deteriorating the situation.”
Amarkhil believes that the US could damage the Daesh terrorist group by dropping smaller bombs. “But they (the US) intentionally dropped this bomb to show off their ability,” he said, suggesting that the US should use its bombs in some other place. “Afghanistan is not the US polygon to test its deadly weapons.
He slammed the Afghan government’s stance, saying that the government was forced to confirm.
“This means that the US can do whatever it wants in Afghanistan and the government of Afghanistan cannot raise any opposition voice.”
“The attack may have killed some Daesh terrorists, but it is not clear yet how many houses and farmlands have been damages, because this was not an ordinary weapon. It is the most destroying bomb after nuclear weapon that has not yet been used anywhere,” Amarkhil said.
He said that he did not expect the government to condemn this attack, but is happy that former president Hamid Karzai raised his voice against this deadly bombardment.
US forces dropped a huge GBU-43 bomb on a series of caves fighters loyal to Islamic State-Khorasan or ISIS-K group used in eastern Nangarhar province on Thursday, the military said.
The GBU-43 bomb, known as mother of all bombs, was dropped from a US aircraft to minimize the risk to Afghan and US forces conducting clearing operations in the area, the military said.
“As ISIS-K’s losses have mounted, they are using IEDs, bunkers and tunnels to thicken their defense,” said General John W. Nicholson, Commander, US Forces – Afghanistan.
“This is the right munition to reduce these obstacles and maintain the momentum of our offensive against ISIS-K,” Nicholson said.
Meanwhile, President Doland Trump called the bombing in Achin district as a very successful mission, but declined to take responsibility for the use of the giant bomb, APA reports quoting Sputnik.
Trump skirted a reporter’s question concerning whether Trump himself authorized the strike. He pivoted by saying, “everybody knows what happened,” which is factually not true — it’s why he was being asked the question.
He followed up by stating that “what I do is authorize my military,” which is true, of course, but only because the legal framework of the US grants the presidency singular sovereignty over the use of armed forces.
The Afghan Presidential Palace in a statement on Friday said Daesh rebels also known as Islamic State (IS) were inflicted heavy losses in the overnight bombing by the US/NATO forces in the Achin district of eastern Nangarhar province.
Afghan security forces in close coordination with NATO Resolute Support (RS) mission have been fighting terrorist groups, including hardcore Daesh insurgents, in Afghanistan, the statement said.
Afghan government was aware a head of dropping the largest non-nuclear bomb in Achin the target militants hideouts and tunnels.
Thirty six Daesh rebels have been killed and huge caches of weapons and explosives destroyed in the overnight world largest non-nuclear bombing of Achin district in eastern Nangarhar province, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said on Friday.
