WASHINGTON — U.S. forces in Afghanistan on Thursday struck an ISIL tunnel complex in eastern Afghanistan with “the mother of all bombs,” the largest non-nuclear weapon every used in combat by the U.S. military, Pentagon officials said. The bomb, known officially as a GBU-43B, or massive ordnance air blast weapon, unleashes 11 tons of explosives. When it was developed in the early 2000s the Pentagon did a formal review of legal justification for its combat use. Adam Stump, a Pentagon spokesman, said the bomb was dropped from a U.S. Air Force MC-130 transport, which he said had been brought to Afghanistan “some time ago” for potential use. He said ISIL has been using improvised explosive devices, bunkers and tunnels to strengthen its defences.

Source: National Post April 13, 2017 16:52 UTC