The United States on Thursday targeted Islamic State in Afghanistan and dropped "the mother of all bombs" on a tunnel complex in eastern part of the country.
GBU-43 bomb, touted as the largest non-nuclear bomb, was dropped by the US military at 7:32 p.m. local time Thursday on a tunnel complex in Achin district of Nangarhar province, where the Afghan affiliate of the Islamic State group has been operating.
Adam Stump, a Pentagon spokesman, said the bomb was dropped from a U.S. Air Force MC-130 transport, which he said had been brought to Afghanistan "some time ago" for potential use.
Here are five interesting facts about 'the mother of all bombs':
1- The bomb, known officially as a GBU-43B, or massive ordnance air blast weapon, unleashes 11 tons of explosives.
2- GBU-43B is a GPS-guided munition that is America's most powerful non-nuclear bomb.
3- This is the first time that the US has used the MOAB bomb in combat.
4- The Air Force developed the MOAB in 2003 during the Iraq war, but it had never been used in combat until on Thursday.
5- When it was developed, the Pentagon did a formal review of legal justification for its combat use.
