The US military on Thursday dropped a massive GBU-43 bomb, also known as the "mother of all bombs", in eastern Afghanistan on a series of caves used by the Islamic State.
The 9,525 kg bomb was dropped in the Achin district of the Nangarhar province in eastern Afghanistan.
The Pentagon has confirmed the use of the MOAB, and was assessing damage. General John Nicholson, commander of US forces in Afghanistan, signed off on its use, CNN reported. Authority was also sought from General Joseph Votel, commander of US Central Command (CENTCOM).
An Afghan National Army (ANA) official, who did not want to be named, was quoted by TOLONews as saying that they were not aware of the size of the bomb but that the US had been using different types of weapons against the IS and other militants for the past few months.
Meanwhile, NATO's Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan confirmed the strike, and said US Forces-Afghanistan conducted the strike on a IS tunnel complex in Achin district as part of ongoing efforts to defeat the group in Afghanistan.
"The strike was designed to minimize the risk to Afghan and U.S forces conducting clearing operations in the area while maximizing the destruction of IS fighters and facilities," read the statement.
The Air Force developed the MOAB in 2003, but it had never been used in combat until on Thursday.
The use of the bomb comes as the US involvement in Afghanistan heads into its 16th year in the fall, and days after a US Special Forces operator was killed in the same region.
The MOAB was designed to target large below-ground areas. It would have "feel like a nuclear weapon to anyone near the area," Lieutenant Colonel Rick Francona (ret.) told CNN.
The GPS-guided munition would have already been in country before it was dropped out of an MC-130 aircraft, operated by Air Force Special Operations Command, military sources told CNN's Barbara Starr.
"The strike was designed to minimize the risk to Afghan and US Forces conducting clearing operations in the area while maximizing the destruction of the IS fighters and facilities," CENTCOM said in a statement.
Nicholson described the MOAB as "the right munition to reduce" the improvised explosive devices (IEDs), bunkers and tunnels IS is using to "thicken their defence". The bomb will also "maintain the momentum of our offensive against IS," he said.
The Air Force "took every precaution to avoid civilian casualties," CENTCOM said.
A peace conference on Afghanistan is scheduled to begin on Friday in Moscow, involving the Afghan government and representatives of twelve other nations. Neither the Taliban nor the IS were invited. The US was invited to the conference, but reportedly declined to participate.
Here are 10 things you need to know about 'Mother Of All Bombs' (MOAB)
The US Air Force calls GBU-43, the Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb (MOAB). Based on the acronym, it has been nicknamed the "Mother Of All Bombs"
According to the Pentagon, the 'Mother Of All Bombs', which is the largest non-nuclear bomb, has been used in combat for the first time.
GBU-43 is a 21,600 pound (9,797 kg) GPS-guided munition. Reports say the MOAB is about 20-feet-long and can burrow through 200-feet of earth and 60-feet of concrete before detonating.
The 'Mother Of All Bombs' was first tested in March 2003, around the time of the US-led invasion of Iraq.
When the ''Mother Of All Bombs' (MOAB) was first tested in 2003, a huge mushroom cloud could be seen from 20 miles (32 kilometers) away, said the US Air Force.
The GB-43 bomb was used against caves and bunkers housing fighters of the Islamic State in Afghanistan, also known as ISIS-K.
The strike occurred at 7:32 pm (1502 GMT). The GB-42 was dropped via an Lockheed MC-130 transport plane.
During its development, reports hailed MOAB as the most powerful non-nuclear weapon ever designed.
"The strike was reportedly designed to minimise the risk to Afghan and US Forces conducting clearing operations in the area while maximizing the destruction of the IS fighters and facilities," US Central Command CENTCOM said in tweet post.
However, MOAB is not the largest bomb ever made. Russia, in 2007, tested the Aviation Thermobaric Bomb of Increased Power, nicknamed as the "Father of All Bombs", which is reportedly four times as powerful as the 'Mother of All Bombs.
