US drops biggest non-nuclear bomb in Afghanistan: Pentagon

Afghan security personnel stand guard in front of the main gate of a military hospital in Kabul on March 8, 2017, after a deadly six-hour attack claimed by the Islamic State group. More than 30 people were killed and around 50 wounded in an insurgent attack on Afghanistan's largest military hospital in Kabul on March 8, the defence ministry said. / AFP PHOTO / SHAH MARAI
Afghan security personnel stand guard in front of the main gate of a military hospital in Kabul on March 8, 2017, after a deadly six-hour attack claimed by the Islamic State group.
More than 30 people were killed and around 50 wounded in an insurgent attack on Afghanistan’s largest military hospital in Kabul on March 8, the defense ministry said.
/ AFP PHOTO / SHAH MARAI

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States military on Thursday dropped what is considered to be the largest non-nuclear bomb on an Islamic State complex in Afghanistan, the Pentagon said.

The GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb hit a “tunnel complex” in Achin district in Nangarhar province, US Forces Afghanistan said in a statement.

The strike occurred at about 7:32 pm local time (1502 GMT).

Pentagon spokesperson Adam Stump said it was the first combat use of the weapon.