US drops 'mother of all bombs' on ISIS caves in Afghanistan

US drops 'mother of all bombs' on
ISIS caves in Afghanistan

Kabul: The United States military fighting the dreaded Islamic State  in Afghanistan dropped its most powerful non –nuclear bomb till date, weighing nearly 22,000 pounds, sending 'ripples' in the world capitals on Thursday, 13^th April 2017.

The massive bomb was dropped from a MC-130 aircraft, Pentagon spokesman Adam Stump told reporters. This unprecedented attack was carried out to destroy a chain of complex cave networks used by the ISIS in the eastern Afghan province of Nangahar.

The US military described the GBU-43 explosion as the “mother of all bombs”, also dubbed as the largest non-nuclear weapon. The bomb has never before been used in combat by the US troops.

The weapon was dropped on an ISIS cave complex near the Afghan border with Pakistan, a Pentagon spokesman confirmed.

The GBU-43/B bomb hit a "tunnel complex" in Achin district in Nangarhar province around 7:32 pm local time, US Forces in Afghanistan said in a statement.

"US forces took every precaution to avoid civilian casualties with this strike. US Forces will continue offensive operations until ISIS-K is destroyed in Afghanistan," the statement said.