The Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb was dropped on a cave complex believed to be used by Islamic State, very close to the border with Pakistan.
The United States dropped a massive GBU-43 bomb, the largest non-nuclear bomb it has ever used in combat, in eastern Afghanistan on April 13, 2017 against a series of caves used by Islamic State militants.
It was the first time the United States has used this size of bomb in a conflict.
It was dropped from a MC-130 aircraft in the Achin district of Nangarhar province, close to the border with Pakistan.
Also known as the “mother of all bombs,” the GBU-43 is a 21,600 pound (9,797 kg) GPS-guided munition and was first tested in March 2003, just days before the start of the Iraq war.
The security situation in Afghanistan remains precarious, with a number of militant groups trying to claim territory more than 15 years after the US invasion which toppled the Taliban government.
The bomb was used against caves and bunkers housing fighters of the Islamic State in Afghanistan, also known as ISIS-K.
Islamic State is based overwhelmingly in Nangarhar and neighboring Kunar province.
Estimates of its strength in Afghanistan vary. US estimates the movement has only 700 fighters but Afghan officials estimate it has about 1,500.
Islamic State's offshoot in Afghanistan is suspected of carrying out several attacks on minority Shi'ite Muslim targets.
The Afghan Taliban, which is trying to overthrow the U.S.-backed government in Kabul, are fiercely opposed to Islamic State and the two group have clashed as they seek to expand territory and influence.
