US Drops Most Powerful Non-Nuclear Bomb in Afghanistan

The U.S. military on Thursday dropped the most powerful non-nuclear bomb in its arsenal against the Islamic State in Afghanistan, marking the first ever combat use of the massive ordnance.

An Air Force MC-130 special operations aircraft dropped the 21-000-pound GBU-43 Massive Ordnance Air Blast, or MOAB, bomb against militants affiliated with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria's branch called Khorasan, or ISIS-K, which operates in Afghanistan and Pakistan, according to U.S. Central Command.

"As ISIS-K's losses have mounted, they are using IEDs, bunkers and tunnels to thicken their defense," Gen. John W. Nicholson, commander of U.S. Forces-Afghanistan, said in a statement, referring to improvised explosive devices. "This is the right munition to reduce these obstacles and maintain the momentum of our offensive against ISIS-K."

Read the full article at Military.com.