The U.S. and Afghan air forces launched a series of strikes on narcotics laboratories in southern Afghanistan on Sunday, marking the beginning of what could be a long, expanded air war there under President Donald Trump.
The strikes marked the “first significant use” of legal authorities granted Aug. 21 by the Trump administration that will allow the Pentagon to target Taliban revenue streams, said Army Gen. John W. Nicholson Jr., the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan. Previously, the U.S. military carried out strikes only when facing imminent threat or working with Afghan forces.
Nicholson, speaking Monday from Kabul to reporters at the Pentagon, said that the strikes — carried out by B-52 bombers, highly advanced F-22 Raptor fighters, unmanned aircraft and Marine Corps rocket fire — were still ongoing. The Afghan air force began the strikes by dropping bombs from A-29 aircraft, and the U.S. continued the bombing campaign afterward.
The strikes Sunday hit seven Taliban drug laboratories and a headquarters in three districts across Helmand that have long been volatile.
