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This is what it looks like when the 'mother of all bombs' explodes

Posted at 12:07 PM, Apr 13, 2017
and last updated 2017-04-13 17:09:08-04

On Thursday, the United States military dropped its most powerful non-nuclear weapon on an ISIS cave complex in Afghanistan. 

Nicknamed the "mother of all bombs," GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air-blast Bomb (MOAB) is a 30-foot-long, 21,600 pound missile-guided bomb. Some sources say the bomb can penetrate to depths of 100 feet before detonating, leaving behind a blast diameter of up to two miles.

According to a 2003 article in the National Review, the purpose of the bomb is primarily psychological — a weapon that leaves so much destruction in its wake that it inspires "shock and awe" in the enemy.

Though no video has been released yet from Thursday's attack, the US military has tested the bomb in 2008. Watch video of the video test in the player below.

Alex Hider is a writer for the E.W. Scripps National Desk. Follow him on Twitter @alexhider.