The United States has used 15,000-pound ``daisy cutter'' bombs, similar to the one shown in this undated file photo, in the Afghanistan campaign, a defense official said Monday Nov. 5, 2001. The BLU-82 bomb, was developed to provide the USAF with a high-blast bomb for creating corridors through large minefields, but also for use against ground forces. This bomb was also used to clear helicopter landing areas in the jungle. The bomb was designed to be delivered by pushing it out of the rear cargo doors of the USAF's MC-130H Combat Talon (Hercules) aircraft. The bomb was first used in the mine-clearing role by the USAF in 1991, to open the Desert Storm ground war. ( AP Photo/JANES)

The BLU-82 combines a watery mixture of ammonium nitrate and aluminum with air, then ignites the mist for a huge explosion that incinerates everything within up to 600 yards. The shock wave can be felt miles away.

The BLU-82 uses about six times the amount of ammonium nitrate explosive that Timothy McVeigh used in the bomb that blew up the Oklahoma City federal building in 1995.

Also See: BLU-82 Commando Vault Federation of American Scientists

First created during the Vietnam War to quickly clear jungle landing zones, the daisy cutter also was used against Iraqi troops during the Gulf War. Reports from the ground in Afghanistan indicate the huge bombs have been used against front-line Taliban positions.

The bombs cost about $27,000 each. They are dropped from a C-130 cargo plane flying at least 6,000 feet off the ground, to avoid the bomb's massive shock wave. Each is more than 17 feet long and 5 feet in diameter - about the size of a Volkswagen Beetle but far heavier.

Copyright 2001 Associated Press

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