KABUL, April 14 (Reuters) - As many as 36 suspected Islamic State militants were killed in Afghanistan when the United States dropped "the mother of all bombs," its largest non-nuclear device ever unleashed in combat, the Afghan Defence Ministry said on Friday. The claims have not been independently verified, but ministry spokesman Dawlat Waziri said no civilians were harmed in Thursday's massive blast that targeted a network of caves and tunnels. "No civilian has been hurt and only the base which Daesh used to launch attacks in other parts of the province, was destroyed," Waziri said in a statement, using an Arabic term for Islamic State, which has established a small stronghold in eastern Afghanistan and launched deadly attacks on the capital, Kabul. Indian IS recruit dies in Afghanistan, unclear if ‘mother of all bombs’ killed him New Delhi, April 14 (agencies): Another man from Kerala, 23-year-old TK Murshid Mohamed, who allegedly joined the Islamic State, was killed on Thursday in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province, where the US dropped the “mother of all bombs”. It is not clear if Mohamed died in the massive US strike. The US on Thursday dropped a GBU-43 bomb, the largest non-nuclear device it has ever unleashed in combat, on a network of caves and tunnels used by Islamic State in eastern Afghanistan. There is still no word on the damage done by the 9,797kg bomb. Mohamed’s father who lives in Padanna village in Kasargode in northern Kerala got a message from Afghanistan, saying his son was “martyred” in the attack, sources said. Unconfirmed reports claimed he was killed in the US bombing. “The short message in Telegram said he was martyred and exhorted parents and others to be proud of this supreme sacrifice,” Mohamed’s uncle told HT. The message was reportedly sent by Ashfaq Majeed, who had joined the terror outfit with Mohamed. Telegram, an internet-based communication app like WhatsApp, is the preferred mode of communication of Islamic State. Messages sent on Telegram self-destruct after 24 hours. Mohamed’s father refused to talk to media but sources said he showed the message to police, who said they were not in a position to confirm the authenticity of the message or the death. A graduate, Mohamed was studying to be a chartered account in Bengaluru in neighbouring Karnataka. He went to Abu Dhabi to help his father in his business and called his mother on June 3, saying he was coming back to Kerala but didn’t. The family suspects he may have joined other IS aspirants in Mumbai or in Dubai. Two months ago, another man from Kerala, Hafeezuiddin (24), was killed in a drone attack in Afghanistan. At least 21 persons from north Kerala, including three children and four women, joined the terror outfit last year. The disappearance of the group sent shockwaves across the country. Most of these people were educated and hailed from upper middle class families. Some of them later called home and told their relatives they had joined Islamic State. Intelligence agencies confirmed that the group was in the Nangarhar province of the war-torn country.
