U.S. drops largest non-nuclear bomb on Afghanistan

The United States military has dropped the largest non-nuclear bomb on an area in eastern Afghanistan controlled by Isis-affiliated militants.

This is the first time the over 10,000 kilogramme bomb which was designed by the US Air Force in 2002 will be used in combat, the Pentagon stated.

The bomb also commonly known as the “Mother of All Bombs (MOAB)” was dropped on a network of tunnels used by the militants in Achin district, Nangarhar Province close to the border with Pakistan.

White House spokesperson, Sean Spicer, in a press conference on Thursday said the military did everything to prevent civilian deaths.

“The U.S. takes the fight against ISIS very seriously,” he added.

The GPS-guided bomb was delivered by parachute from a C-130 Hercules military cargo plane. The Pentagon said the mission has been planned for moths but did not say whether the planning started during the last administration of President Barack Obama.

“This is the right munition to reduce these obstacles and maintain the momentum of our offensive against Isis,” John Nicholson, a general and head of US and international forces in Afghanistan, said in a statement.

“As ISIS-K’s losses have mounted, they are using IEDs, bunkers and tunnels to thicken their defense. This is the right munition to reduce these obstacles and maintain the momentum of our offensive against ISIS-K,” Mr Nicholson added.

The U.S. dropped the bomb as it plans to send more military personnel to Afghanistan as advisers to train the Afghan military which has been struggling in recent times against growing ISIS influence in the country.