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On Friday, American forces dropped one of the largest conventional bombs ever used in combat on what they described as a tunnel complex used by Islamic State militants in Nangarhar's Achin district.
In Achin village, about 5 kilometres from the remote and mountainous area where the bomb was dropped, witnesses said the ground shook but homes and shops appeared unaffected.
Resident Qari Mehrajuddin first saw "lightning like a thunder storm" followed by the roar of an explosion, an all-too-familiar sound for residents in Afghanistan's war-torn Nangarhar province.
"I thought there was a bombing just outside my home," he said.
In reality, the blast was around three miles away, its massive impact bigger than any before seen in the region.
"It was between 7:00 or 8:00 local time when it happened. The whole house was shaking," resident Mufti Khan said.
"When I came out of my house I saw a large fire and the whole area was burning."
"Last night's bomb was really huge, when it dropped, everywhere, it was shaking," said resident Palstar Khan, adding that he believed no civilians in the area were hit.
Mr Khan praised the strike, saying killing IS fighters was a "positive move".
Two local men, also from Achin village, told RadioFreeEurope that the impact of the bomb was "powerful and horrific".
"When the bomb exploded, we were shaken, and we wondered what had happened, because it was very big explosion," one man said.
"We can't go to the area where it exploded because [the militants] would take us prisoner.
"Our houses were there, but they came and looted everything and now we can't go there … now their own families live there."
Photo:
A member of Afghanistan's Special Forces is seen near Achin village. (Reuters: Parwiz Parwiz)
Some residents in areas of Achin recently liberated from Islamic State occupation welcomed Thursday's strike, which hit headlines around the world and has been widely interpreted as a deliberate show of strength by US President Donald Trump.
Achin resident Mohammad Hakim, voiced his approval for the strike, saying: "We are very happy and these kinds of bombs should be used in future as well, so Daesh [Islamic State] is rooted out from here."
Mixed reactions
Away from the area directly impacted by the blast, the reaction was more mixed.
"The fact is that America used their big bomb here to test its effectiveness," said Kabul resident Asadullah Khaksar.
"If America wants to eliminate Daesh, it is very easy because they created this group."
Rahim Khan, another Kabul resident, also took a sceptical view of America's role in the fighting.
"If this bombing was indeed for the elimination of Daesh this is a good move, but I don't believe it," he said.
"This is all imposed on Afghanistan for proxy war."
Explosion heard from Pakistan
Pakistani villagers living near the Afghan border said the explosion was so loud they thought a bomb had been dropped in their village by US warplanes targeting terrorists in Pakistan.
"I was sleeping when we heard a loud explosion. It was an ear-splitting blast," said Shah Wali, 46, who lives in the village of Goor Gari, 15km from the border with Nangarhar.
"I jumped from my bed and came out of my home to see what has gone wrong in our village."
Wali said dozens of other villagers also came out of homes and later he went near the border, where he met with other residents. He said he could see smoke in the sky.
Reuters/AP
Topics: unrest-conflict-and-war, world-politics, afghanistan, pakistan, united-states
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