At least 36 Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militants are reported dead after the second major US military strike in a week's time.
- 36 ISIS members killed, no civilians harmed: Afghan officials
- ISIS has not made any announcements regarding attack
- RELATED story: US drops largest non-nuclear bomb on ISIS target in Afghanistan
The U.S. military dropped what it called the Mother of All Bombs on ISIS militants in Afghanistan.
Afghan officials say this Massive Ordinance Air Blast bomb killed 36 ISIS militants and that no civilians were harmed.
This is the second time in a week that the U.S. launched a major attack. Just last week there was a surprise strike on a Syrian airfield.
The Ministry of Defense said in a statement that several ISIS caves and ammunition caches were destroyed by the giant bomb, which terrified villagers on both sides of the Afghanistan-Pakistan border with its "earsplitting blast."
This May 2004 photo shows a GBU-43B, or massive ordnance air blast (MOAB) weapon, on display at the Air Force Armament Museum on Eglin Air Force Base near Valparaiso, Fla. U.S. forces in Afghanistan struck. (Northwest Florida Daily News via AP)
And the move is getting a lot of reaction from Congress. Some are insisting that President Donald Trump consult Congress before he acts again.
Trump called this "another very, very successful mission," but he would not say if he directly authorized the bombing.
However, the president is getting support from Florida U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio.
Our troops in #Afghanistan are taking the fight to #ISIS. Glad the admin is focused on eliminating terrorist threat & protecting Americans.
— Senator Rubio Press (@SenRubioPress) April 13, 2017
And Rubio is not the only Republican praising the bombing:
Pleased Air Force dropped MOAB against ISIL in Afghanistan. Must be more aggressive against ISIL everywhere - including Afghanistan. 1/2
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) April 13, 2017
I hope America's adversaries are watching & now understand there’s a new sheriff in town. 2/2
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) April 13, 2017
However, Democrats are calling for a plan to be laid out and want Congress to have more input in military decisions.
Afghanistan bombing shows dangerous implications of Congress relinquishing war-making decisions. We must repeal 2001 #AUMF immediately. https://t.co/KXHLC4ciG4
— Rep. Barbara Lee (@RepBarbaraLee) April 13, 2017
The hashtag stands for Authorization for Use of Military Force, which gives the president authorization to take action in order to prevent future terrorist attacks on the U.S. It was put in place after 9/11.
The U.S. estimates 600 to 800 IS fighters are present in Afghanistan, mostly in Nangarhar. The U.S. has concentrated heavily on combatting them while also supporting Afghan forces battling the Taliban. President Donald Trump called Thursday's operation a "very, very successful mission."
The bomb, known officially as a GBU-43B, or massive ordnance air blast weapon, unleashes 11 tons of explosives.
Inamullah Meyakhil, spokesman for the central hospital in eastern Nangarhar province, said the facility had received no dead or wounded from the attack.
District Gov. Ismail Shinwari said there is no civilian property near the airstrike location.
There was no immediate comment from the ISIS group or other militants regarding the U.S. bomb attack.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.