On April 13th, reports came out that the United States had successfully deployed the largest non-nuclear bomb on ISIS targets in Afghanistan, making it the first time that the United States had used this weapon in battle. The MOAB, also known as “the mother of all bombs,” weighs approximately 21,600 pounds, and according to Afghanistan’s ambassador to the U.S., it was used “after fighting had intensified over the last week between U.S. Special Forces and Afghan troops against ISIS.”

The bomb was first developed during the Iraq War and was tested in 2003 to see the full scope of the blast. It was designed to take out large numbers of enemy troops and equipment and also obliterate heavily fortified areas such as tunnels and bunkers. It delivers a payload of 0.011 kilotons.

It is not yet known whether Donald Trump gave any authorization for the attack; President Trump has recently given U.S. military commanders much more independence in battlefield situations. The use of the bomb has received both positive and negative feedback, but many generals have stated that with several thousand U.S. troops still in Afghanistan, the use of the bomb was necessary.