US Bombings Hit Seven-Year High in Afghanistan

The number of American airstrikes in Afghanistan hit a seven-year high in September as the military acted on US President Donald Trump’s new strategy for the country, according to the US Air Forces Central Command. The US used 751 bombs against the self-styled Islamic State terrorist group and Taliban targets during the period, according to the recently released report. This was a 50 percent jump from August. US airstrikes hit an all-time high in Oct. 2010, at 1,043, NBC News reported. In August, Trump announced a new approach for the US war in Afghanistan. Acknowledging that his “original instinct was to pull out” of Afghanistan, Trump said that after becoming president he realized a hasty withdrawal would cede ground to terror groups. In April, US forces dropped the largest non-nuclear bomb ever used to target IS in eastern Afghanistan. The GBU-43 bomb, nicknamed the “mother of all bombs,” reportedly killed 36 suspected IS militants.