Security forces deny access to site of US blast in Afghanistan
Source: france24
JALALABAD (AFGHANISTAN)
Security forceswere still blocking accessWednesday to the site in eastern Afghanistan where the US dropped a massive bomb on an Islamic State group stronghold six days ago The blast triggered shockwaves which residents said they felt miles away. It was said by the Afghan defence ministry to have killed at least 95 militants, including some IS commanders and foreign fighters, but no civilians.
The statement could not be independently verified, with reporters including AFP correspondents turned away from the site again Wednesday even though there was no sign of fighting in the immediate area.
Ahmad Jan, a resident of Achin who fled IS fighting and moved with his family to the provincial capital Jalalabad long before the bomb was dropped, told AFP he had no idea whether his house or relatives survived the attack.
"No one can go there, they have completely blocked the area. I don't know if my house is destroyed. They have not even shown any dead bodies to anyone," he said
Read more: http://www.france24.com/en/20170419-security-forces-deny-access-site-us-blast-afghanistan
Analyst and retired general Atiqullah Amarkhail told AFP the US military needed time to analyse the impact and clean the debris.
"It was not an ordinary bomb. It carried a special kind of explosives, it was tested in a mountainous area for the first time, I believe a team of US experts are now working on the ground to assess the effects and impacts," he said.
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