WASHINGTON \u2014 In a first use of expanded military authorities in Afghanistan, U.S. warplanes destroyed eight Taliban opium production facilities in Helmand Province Sunday, the top U.S. general there said Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
U.S. Forces Afghanistan commander Gen. John Nicholson said U.S. and Afghan forces in total took out 10 facilities on the first day of Operation Jagged Knife, a combined air operation that involved Afghan A-29s and U.S. B-52s and F-22s to take out a series of factories that Nicholson said were used as a revenue source for the Taliban. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The operation marked the first use of the F-22 to conduct airstrikes in Afghanistan. The highly advanced stealth fighter has capabilities that exceed what should have been necessary to destroy a Taliban target, raising questions as to why that platform was selected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Monday, Nicholson said the F-22 was selected in a last-minute decision, based on what aircraft was available with the capability to carry a small diameter precision bomb. Nicholson showed a clip of a target hit by an F-22 that dropped 250-pound small diameter bombs inside a compound. The bombs destroyed two of the structures inside the compound, leaving one, \u201cto avoid collateral damage,\u201d Nicholson said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n