BEIJING – China has tested its most powerful non-nuclear weapon, dubbed the”Mother of All Bombs” by official media in a reference to a US munitionused in Afghanistan.
In a short video published on the website of state arms manufacturerNorinco, the massive bomb drops on to a plain and produces a gigantic ballof fire and black smoke.
On social networks on Wednesday, the official *Xinhua* news agencydescribed the bomb for the first time, calling it the “Chinese version ofthe ‘Mother of all Bombs'”.
The bomb — whose strength is only second to that of a nuclear weapon,according to the agency — was dropped by a Chinese H-6K bomber
No details on the date, location or range of the bomb blast were provided.
In 2017 the US dropped powerful bimb dubbed the ‘MOAB’ — the ‘Mother of AllBombs’ — in an attempt to destroy a tunnel network being used by theIslamic State (IS) group in the east of Afghanistan.
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US president Donald Trump said at the time he was “proud” of his troops andcongratulated them on their success.
The Chinese bomb is five to six metres long (16 to 20 feet), but weighsless than the American version, according to military analyst Wei Dongxu,who was quoted by the semi-official *Global Times* daily on Friday.
“The massive explosion that was generated would easily wipe out landfortifications,” said Wei. – APP/AFP
