KABUL (Pajhwok): A credible security official on Tuesday named 13 Daesh or Islamic State (IS) commanders who were killed in the GBU-43/B strike by the US military in Achin district of eastern Nangarhar province.
Local officials say more than 90 Daesh fighters were killed and a large amount of ammunition destroyed when a US aircraft dropped the giant bomb also known as Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB) on a cave complex in Achin district near the Pakistani border on Thursday evening.
A security official on Tuesday told Pajhwok Afghan News that 96 IS fighters, including 13 commanders, had been killed in the attack.
The source said the commanders had links with India, Pakistan. The official said Daesh commanders killed in the attack were identified as following:
Commander Shahid Omar Afridi, a former Pakistani Taliban member.
Commander Wilcon, brother of former Daesh leader Hafiz Sayed.
Mumtaz, a retired Pakistani military officer.
Abobakr Orakzai, Daesh operation unit commander.
Sheikh Waqas, a former member of Lashkar-e-Taiba of Pakistan and a resident of Orakzai agency.
Daesh commanders Mohammad and Allah Gupta were from India.
Yasir Khorasani was from Afghanistan, Emran Orakzai and Aftab Punjabi from Pakistan, Hamzah Orakzai, Hamid Kunari and Haji Saad Kunari were other Daesh commanders killed in the strike, the source said.
He said 13 Indian Daesh militants were also among those killed in the attack. Before the attack, local residents were evacuated from the area, he added.
The official said the bomb could cause casualties in a 1.8 mile radius and could deafen a person in a 2.5 miles radius.
About the reason the area was attacked, the official said important Daesh hideouts existed in the cave complex where the rebels from other parts of the world would also come and meet.
He said Daesh fighters used to sneak from the area to other parts of Afghanistan.
The official said he could not comment about the impact of the attack on Daesh militants, but was sure it would definitely leave a long-term impact on the outfit.
Around 1,700 to 2,000 Daesh militants have been killed in Afghanistan so far and around 1,000 to 1,200 of the rebels still exist here, the source said.
However, a Daesh-run radio in Nangarhar province announced yesterday that none of its fighters had been killed in the Moab attack.
mds/ma
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