The Department of Defense released a video of its GBU-43 bomb, the largest non-nuclear weapon it has ever used in combat, strike a target in the Nangarhar province of Afghanistan on Thursday, April 13, 2017. ISIS forces were believed to be in tunnels and caves, and the massive bomb, nicknamed the “mother of all bombs,” killed 36 fighters, according to…
The Pentagon says that U.S. forces killed the head of ISIS affiliate in Afghanistan in an airstrike in Kunar province earlier this week.
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis says that killing Abu Sayed is significant because the loss of leadership sets insurgent groups back for days or weeks.
ISIS in Afghanistan is known as the Islamic State-Khorasan group. The U.S. and Afghan forces launched an offensive against the ISIS group in early March, as the militants were gaining a foothold in eastern Afghanistan.
ISIS leaders chose Abu Sayed to lead the group after Afghan and U.S. forces killed the previous ISIS leaders in Afghanistan last year.
Mattis tells Pentagon reporters that taking out a leader creates disarray in the ranks. He declines to provide any additional details on the strike.
A chief Pentagon spokesperson, Dana White, says that Abu Sayed was killed on Tuesday along with other members of the group.
Afghan and U.S. forces launched a counter-ISIS offensive in early March 2017 to drive fighters from Nangarhar and send a clear message to ISIS that there is no sanctuary for their fighters in Afghanistan.
