U.S. Drops Bomb on ISIS Target in Afghanistan

Story by NBC News
Written by Courtney Kube

U.S. forces dropped one of the biggest non-nuclear weapons in its arsenal in a strike against ISIS in eastern Afghanistan on Thursday, according to Pentagon officials.

The U.S. dropped a GBU-43 bomb, nicknamed "the mother of all bombs," on ISIS fighters and tunnels and caves in the country's Nangarhar province, officials said.

Military officials believe it is the first time the weapon was used on the battlefield. It was dropped from an aircraft.

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said that the GBU-43 bomb was used Wednesday around 7 p.m. local time in Afghanistan. He called the weapon "large, powerful" and accurate.

"The U.S. takes the fight against ISIS very seriously," Spicer said during the daily briefing.

The White House did not answer reporters' specific questions on what led to the strike — a stark contrast to how the administration outlined what led to a military strike in Syria the week before.

Read more: http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/u-s-targets-isis-afghanistan-large-non-nuclear-bomb-n746106