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'Bunker buster' dropped on Taliban troops

The GBU-28 bomb

By Jamie McIntyre
CNN Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- In what Pentagon officials described Wednesday as an attempt to demoralize Taliban troops, a B-2 stealth bomber dropped one of the most powerful conventional bombs in the Air Force arsenal on a concentration of troops and equipment in Afghanistan on Tuesday.

Sources said the 5,000-pound GBU-28 "bunker buster" bomb was not used to penetrate a hardened bunker but simply to deliver more explosive power to the target area.

Officials said the intent of using the powerful bomb was to show Taliban troops they were facing a formidable adversary.

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The "bunker buster" was developed for Desert Storm in 1991 to penetrate underground troop shelters. The bomb can penetrate up to 100 feet of earth, officials said.

In another development, a Pentagon official said a flying radio and television station, known as "Commando Solo," began radio broadcasts into Afghanistan Tuesday and Wednesday.

The specially equipped EC-130 is capable of broadcasting on AM, FM, HF, TV and military communications bands using a multitude of worldwide standards.