April 13, 2017 23:01 IST
The
United States has dropped its largest non-nuclear weapon after it targeted
Islamic State caves in Afghanistan.
The military used a GBU-43 bomb -- which weighs a staggering 9,525 kg -- and
the radius from the blast is believed to more than 300 metres.
It has been described as the ‘mother of all bombs’ and the
Pentagon confirmed that it was dropped in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar
province.
The action is the first time the non-nuclear weapon has been used
in a combat situation.
The bomb was dropped by an MC-130 aircraft, operated by Air Force
Special Operations Command, according to the military sources.
The military is currently assessing the damage. General John
Nicholson, commander of US forces in Afghanistan, signed off on the use of the
bomb, according to the sources.
Pentagon spokesman Adam Stump said it was the first ever combat
use of the bomb, which contains 11 tonnes of explosives.
Stump said the bomb was dropped on a cave complex believed to be
used by IS fighters in the Achin district of Nangarhar province, very close to
the border with Pakistan.
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