The US forces used their biggest non-nuclear bomb in Assadkhail region in Achin District of Nangarhar Province on 13 April 2017. This weapon which is also called “the mother of all bombs” is said to have been used to target ISIL fighters in Afghanistan, but many believe that using “the mother of all bombs” was rather a symbolic move by the US to demonstrate its power.
Although the Presidential Palace, Chief Executive Office, and some other pro-government parties supported the attack, some other groups including the former President Hamid Karzai and the Taliban fiercely reacted against this attack.
Whether what were the main objective behind using this bomb in Afghanistan, what are the benefits and disadvantages of this attack, and why such a bomb was utilized in current circumstances are questions that are analyzed here.
ISIL in Nangerhar
The foundation of ISIL in the Afghan-Pak region was put in Pashtun-residing tribal areas of Pakistan. Some people who were discontented from the Taliban such as Abdul Raouf Khadem, who was the deputy for the Taliban’s former chief of the military committee, joined this group. Overall it seems that some members of Pakistan’s Tehrik-e-Taliban, former Afghan Taliban, Pakistan and Afghanistan Pashtun Salafis and some other people have joined this group.
At first, the practical activities of ISIL began from Southern Afghanistan, but the assassination of Abdul Raouf in a drone attack in Helmand affected the activities of this group in Afghanistan. Therefore, in the second year, the group started their operations from the eastern provinces of Kunar and Nangarhar. These provinces were important for ISIL because on the one hand some followers of Salafi brand of Islamic thought were living there and on the other hand these provinces linked with the tribal areas of Pakistan. Besides that, the “Zarb-e-Azb” operations also forced some people to pass border towards Afghanistan and thus the ISIL fighters increased in Afghanistan. Most of these fighters were from Urukzai agency, Bajawar, and some other agencies. Another point about Nangarhar was that the ISIL fighters could easily visit their regions from there.
ISIL fighters were more successful in Nangerhar than in Kunar. According to a research, until July 2015, ISIL captured eight districts. However, this group was soon engaged in a war on the three fronts. On the one hand the Afghan Taliban were fighting them, on the other hand the Afghan government conducted operations against them and in the meanwhile, the Americans also carried out airstrikes on them. Therefore, now the areas controlled by ISIL has reduced from eight to four districts.
ISIL and the Mother of All Bombs
In the official statements of the both the US and the Afghan governments, the reason behind the utilization of this bomb is said to be elimination of ISIL fighters, but later these statements were followed by some contradictory remarks by some senior US officials.
In addition, according to some Afghan senior security officials, most of the civilians were evacuated and ISIL had not only mined the area but also had constructed tunnels and caves for themselves, making it hard for the security forces to advance only with the support of drone strikes. Therefore, it was needed to use such a bomb. The Commander of foreign forces in Afghanistan John Nicolson also said that the utilization of MOAB was necessary, because otherwise the fatalities of the Afghan and US forces would have increased. In the meanwhile in order to reduce the concerns about civilian casualties, the spokesperson of Ministry of Defense Dawlat Waziri, the National Army’s spokesperson in Nanagarhar and the governor of Achin district separately said that in this massive attack there were no civilian casualties.
Despite all these, there exist some issues that are left vague such as:
First; ISIL is a guerrilla sort of a group and does not remain in a particular place, and it constantly changes its place. In the meanwhile, except for the US and the Afghan governments no other independent third party has proved the assassination of only ISIL fighters in this attack.
Second; if the Assadkhail area of Achin District was a center of ISIL, then it is probable that the group had some prisoners and villagers and some people must have lived in the area, because it had strategic importance for safety of the group.
Third; given the type and the size of the bomb, it is most likely to have caused financial loses and casualties for the civilians who were living in the nearby areas of Assadkhail, because this bomb is ten tons and explodes a little before reaching the land. Therefore, it destroys several kilometers on the surface.
Fourth; the later remarks of the US Secretary of Defense who said that they would not investigate this bombing also raises questions about the achievements of the use of this bomb.
Fifth; according to the experts, given the chemical materials used in the combination of this bomb, it will confront the area with serious environmental and health loses because environmentalists have recorded the TNT chemical substance, used in the combination of this bomb, as carcinogenic.
The MOAB from a regional and international changes prospective
Except for the official remarks regarding the utilization of this bomb, in this regard, there exist some other opinion as well:
First; the reason behind using this bomb was to test a massive explosive. Although some people may say that this bomb was made long time ago and was tested, it was the first time that this bomb was used in combat. In addition, this was the first time that this bomb was used in a mountainous area and shortly after the attack a group of US researchers started investigations on the samples of the area’s soil, trees, and bushes.
Second; a demonstration of power to the North Korea and Russia; such a strike while since the past 15 years US’s relations with the North Korea and Russia are deteriorating raises questions. The most important issue is the timing of this attack. This attack occurred on the day that Russia was hosting the third conference on Afghanistan. Moscow’s this process in the region is being compared to a new anti-US coalition in the region. The US has opposed this process and has accused Russia of supporting the Taliban.
Besides that, the US Vice President Mike Pence’s remarks are also in this regard. Pence who is currently on a 10-day trip to the countries around North Korea has said that “the North Korea should not test the strategic silence of the US. In the past two weeks, the world witnessed the power of our President through our attacks in Syria and Afghanistan.” Therefore, it seems that the US’s this move was to carry a message to the North Korea, Russia and some other countries in the region.
The Afghan government’s stance
After the attack, releasing a statement, the Afghan government stated that this attack was carried out in coordination with them. Later the Chief Executive Office also supported the attack.
The Afghan government not only supported the utilization of the mother of all bombs in Nanagarhar but also released statements to change the public mentality. For instance, despite the opinions of experts who have said that this bomb will have environmental and health-related consequences, soon after the attack, the Afghan Ministry of Public Health released statements in favor of the attack. However, after the attack, the Afghan government officials were not allowed to either visit or conduct investigation in the area nor had the Afghan government the results of any other survey in this regard.
It was for the same reason that one day after the attack the former Afghan President Hamid Karzai accused the National Unity Government of National treason and said that this government represented neither him nor his hopes. He said that the utilization of this bomb was the clear violation of the countries national sovereignty.
Apart from the stances in favor or against this attack, the complicated situation of war in Afghanistan and the past experiences show that, the war is not going to end through such attacks or using such bombs and neither this attack nor the remarks of the officials show the commitment to end war.
The end