Largest non-nuclear bomb dropped in Afghanistan kills 36 ISIS militants

The GBU-43 is the largest non-nuclear bomb created by the United States (YouTube).

WASHINGTON (KUSI) — An attack by the United States on the Islamic State group in eastern Afghanistan left 36 ISIS militants dead and no civilian casualties, Afghanistan officials said.

The United States dropped the “Mother of all Bombs” — the largest non-nuclear weapon ever used in combat — on a tunnel complex in a remote area of Afghanistan near the Pakistan border. The bomb destroyed several ISIS caves filled with munitions, according to the Ministry of Defense. Afghanistan officials said the blast also killed 36 ISIS militants and killed no civilians, although it terrified several villages on both sides of the border.

The death toll could possibly rise, a spokesperson for the Afghanistan Ministry of Defense said.

The bomb is officially known as the GBU-43B and has never been used in military combat before, despite being available to two former presidents.

"This is the right weapon for the right target," U.S. Gen. John W. Nicholson NATO commander in Afghanistan said.

The U.S. estimates 600 to 800 ISIS fighters are in Afghanistan.

The blast scared residents in nearby villages who believed a bomb was being dropped on their village, but several residents told the Associated Press they were supportive.

"I want a hundred times more bombings on this group," Hakim Khan, 50, a resident of the area of the blast told AP.