Afghanistan Times
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AT News Report
KABUL: The Stars and Stripes reports that the US military would use the largest warplane equipped by laser weapons in the war in Afghanistan.
It quoted US military officials as saying on Sunday that the AC-130 Ghostrider gunship flies over Afghan airspace almost every night and is armed by laser weapons that had not been used yet in Afghan war.
The US officials have told the Stars and Stripes that the warplane was included in their Afghan operations after they received the order to accelerate pressures on Taliban fighters.
But political analysts in Kabul say that the US military uses Afghanistan a suitable place to test its modern and sophisticated weapons under the pretext of defeating armed opposition groups.
The news comes as US and its allies are training and advising Afghan security forces after their combat mission ended in December 2014.
“The AC-130 Ghostrider gunship is armed with laser bombs and can fly in higher altitudes. This plane is very large and has the capacity of transporting every type of weapons. It was included in the operations after the US military was ordered to intensify attacks against Taliban. It flies over Afghanistan every night and is proved useful in the ground military support,” the Stars and Stripes wrote.
The government has not commented on the report, but the magazine has quoted some Afghan security officials as saying that the aircraft was useful in suppressing Taliban and other armed opposition groups. Political analysts say that the plane had caused increase in civilian casualties.
