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'Mother Of All Bombs' Kills Dozens Of ISIS Fighters In Afghanistan

No civilians were harmed in the attack.
Posted at 8:36 AM, Apr 14, 2017
and last updated 2017-04-14 08:36:41-04

The "mother of all bombs" killed 36 ISIS fighters, according to Afghan officials. 

The U.S. military dropped the largest non-nuclear bomb in its arsenal — the GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast — in Afghanistan on Thursday. Its target was an underground cave complex used by ISIS.

The bomb itself weighs about 11 tons and cost about $16 million. It's never been used in a combat situation until now.

Here's how it works: The device actually explodes in the air. It forces so much pressure downward that structures — like underground tunnels — collapse. It was built and tested during the Iraq War in the early 2000s.

Thursday's bomb destroyed three ISIS tunnels in the underground network along with weapons and ammunition.

A spokesperson for the Afghan Ministry of Defense said no civilians were harmed in the attack.