Afghanistan War News Updates -- April 19, 2017

Afghan National Army soldiers keep watch at a checkpoint in Logar province, Afghanistan, Feb. 16, 2016. Afghan forces and U.S. airstrikes targeted ISIS fighters Tuesday. PHOTO: REUTERS/OMAR SOBHANI

Reuters: U.S. troops still battling Islamic State near site of bomb strike: official

U.S. troops are still battling suspected Islamic State fighters near the site where a massive bomb was dropped in eastern Afghanistan last week, a U.S. military official said on Wednesday.

Nicknamed "the mother of all bombs", the GBU-43 Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb was dropped last Thursday from an American MC-130 aircraft in the Achin district of Nangarhar, bordering Pakistan.

Since then questions have surrounded the decision to use the weapon, which is one of the largest conventional bombs ever used in combat by the U.S. military. The strike drew condemnation from some prominent figures, including former Afghan president Hamid Karzai and Afghanistan's ambassador to Pakistan.

After arriving at the site the day after the strike, U.S. troops, who are fighting alongside Afghan forces, have since left but continue to conduct operations in the area, said U.S military spokesman Captain William Salvin.

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Afghanistan War News Updates -- April 19, 2017

Marines headed to southern Afghanistan, where Taliban are reversing previous victories -- Marine Times
U.S. Isn’t Saying How Much Damage ‘Mother of All Bombs’ Did in Afghanistan -- NYT
13 key ISIS leaders killed in MOAB bombing in East of Afghanistan -- Khaama Press
Afghan Taliban Confirm Killing of Shadow Governor -- VOA
In Afghanistan, Battle With ISIS Grinds On After ‘Mother of All Bombs’ -- WSJ
Devastation and a war that rages on: visiting the valley hit by the Moab attack -- The Guardian
Top Taliban commander killed in northern Afghanistan -- Anadolu Agency
Afghanistan rejects Taliban claims of killing over 155 thousand soldiers -- Khaama Press
The U.S. Military Bombed ISIS In Afghanistan, But The Taliban Are Winning The War -- Tom O'Connor, Task & Purpose/Newsweek
Historian Says The U.S. Is 'Losing Hearts And Minds In Afghanistan' (Audio) -- NPR
After More Than A Decade And A Half In Afghanistan The US Needs To Deploy More Troops To Win, Experts Say -- Alex Pfeiffer, Daily Caller
The ISIS antidote: The women of Afghanistan -- Morgan Ortagus, FOX News
Growing Russian Involvement In Afghanistan – Analysis -- Eurasia Review
How active are Indian jihadists in Afghanistan? -- Masood Saifullah, DW
Afghanistan: Making It Worse -- Ahmed Rashid, New York Review of Books
Bigger bombs, more airstrikes are going to make the war in Afghanistan worse -- Douglas Wissing, The Hill