Pentagon releases video of ‘Mother of All Bombs’ being dropped in Afghanistan

The Pentagon on Friday released video showing the U.S. military’s largest non-nuclear bomb being dropped on a terrorist tunnel network in Afghanistan.

As part of Operation Resolute Support, the military dropped the GBU-43 Massive Ordnance Air Blast Bomb to take out tunnels in northeast Afghanistan that had been used by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

{mosads}”The GBU-43 is a large, powerful and accurately delivered weapon. We targeted a system of tunnels and caves that ISIS fighters used to move around freely, making it easier for them to target U.S. military advisors and Afghan forces in the area,” White House press secretary Sean Spicer told reporters Thursday. 

“The United States takes the fight against ISIS very seriously. And in order to defeat the group, we must deny them operational space, which we did.”

The bomb, nicknamed the “Mother of All Bombs,” is the most powerful non-nuclear bomb in the U.S. arsenal. Thursday’s mission marked the first time it had been used in combat.

The White House said it took precautions to prevent civilian casualties. The bomb killed at least 36 militants, Afghan officials told CNN on Friday.