--- title: The Mother of All Bombs: Video from Afghanistan description: The United States dropped the largest non-nuclear bomb it has ever used in combat on Afghanistab. The Pentagon released a video. canonical: https://time.com/4739882/mother-of-all-bombs-afghanistan-video/ author: Tessa Berenson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-04-14T12:48:09.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T04:24:46.262Z article:section: Politics og:title: The Pentagon Released Video of 'The Mother of All Bombs' in Afghanistan og:description: The bomb had never been used in combat before og:url: https://time.com/4739882/mother-of-all-bombs-afghanistan-video/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt64c797141689634a/6988c2b086f68e4ac66e43e3/ap_17103619556578.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: United-States-Afghanistan-GBU-43B-bomb og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Pentagon Released Video of 'The Mother of All Bombs' in Afghanistan twitter:description: The bomb had never been used in combat before twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt64c797141689634a/6988c2b086f68e4ac66e43e3/ap_17103619556578.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Pentagon Just Released Video of 'The Mother of All Bombs' in Afghanistan  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Apr 14, 2017 12:48 PM UTC  This undated photo provided by Eglin Air Force Base shows a GBU-43B, or massive ordnance air blast weapon, the U.S. military's largest non-nuclear bomb, which contains 11 tons of explosives. The Pentagon said U.S. forces in Afghanistan dropped a GBU-43B on an Islamic State target in Afghanistan on Thursday, April 13, 2017, in what a Pentagon spokesman said was the first-ever combat use of the bomb. This undated photo provided by Eglin Air Force Base shows a GBU-43B, or massive ordnance air blast weapon, the U.S. military's largest non-nuclear bomb, which contains 11 tons of explosives. The Pentagon said U.S. forces in Afghanistan dropped a GBU-43B on an Islamic State target in Afghanistan on Thursday, April 13, 2017, in what a Pentagon spokesman said was the first-ever combat use of the bomb.Eglin Air Force Base—AP  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Apr 14, 2017 12:48 PM UTC The United States dropped the largest non-nuclear bomb it has ever used in combat on Afghanistan this week. The Pentagon just released a video of the explosion. “[The mother of all bombs](http://time.com/4739302/mother-of-all-bombs-afghanistan-what-is-that/?iid=sr-link1),” officially called the GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB), struck an ISIS tunnel complex in eastern Afghanistan Thursday. “What it does is basically suck out all of the oxygen and lights the air on fire,” Bill Roggio, of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told [_Air Force Times_](https://www.airforcetimes.com/articles/military-gbu-43-moab-bomb-dropped-in-afghanistan). “It’s a way to get into areas where conventional bombs can’t reach.” The bomb had never been used in combat before. 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