The death toll from the American military's largest non-nuclear bomb nearly tripled Saturday, with Afghan officials saying at least 90 Islamic State terrorists were killed, as US-led forces conducted clean-up operations over the rugged terrain.
The GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb -- dubbed the "Mother Of All Bombs" -- was unleashed in combat for the first time, hitting ISIS positions in eastern Nangarhar province on Thursday.
The bombing triggered shock waves in Afghanistan, with some condemning the use of Afghanistan as what they called a testing ground for the weapon, and against a militant group that is not considered a threat as big as the resurgent Taliban.
Afghan officials had earlier said the bombing had killed 36 ISIS terrorists.
Shinwari insisted there were "no military and civilian casualties at all".
The massive bomb was dropped after fighting intensified over the past week and US-backed ground forces struggled to advance on the area. An American special forces soldier was killed last Saturday in Nangarhar while conducting anti-ISIS operations.
But some analysts called the action "disproportionate".
"Still, from a strategic standpoint, there is an unsettling takeaway here: The US pulled off a huge shock and awe mission against an enemy that isn't even the top threat to the US in Afghanistan. The Taliban continues to sit pretty."
But the group has been steadily losing ground in the face of heavy pressure both from US air strikes and a ground offensive led by Afghan forces.
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