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The bomb – twice the size of the nuke dropped on Hiroshima – was dropped on Afghanistan's Nangarhar province, the Pentagon has confirmed.

The blast radius is believed to be over a mile and the weapon is described as "the mother of all bombs".

The strike killed 36 ISIS fighters, according to the US Defence Ministry.

It is the very first time the weapon has been used in combat and a huge statement that Trump plans to deliver on his promise to "wipe ISIS off the face of the Earth".

The bomb was dropped by an MC-130 aircraft, operated by Air Force Special Operations Command.

A crater left by the blast is believed to be more than 300 metres wide.

Gen. John Nicholson, commander of US forces in Afghanistan, signed off on the use of the MOAB.

(Image: GETTY) (Image: GOOGLE)

It comes as war fears reach fever pitch – with Kim Jong-un's North Korea on the brink of sparking global conflict.

The bomb weighs approximately 21,000lbs.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer later confirmed the news.

He said: "The United States took all precautions necessary to prevent civilian casualties as a result of the operation."

Mr Spicer declined to comment on whether or not the US would consider using it on North Korea in the future.

President Trump later added how "proud" he was of the American military after dropping the bomb.

In a statement US Central Command said that the bomb was dropped at 7.32pm local time in Achin district, Nangarhar province in Eastern Afghanistan.

It said that the "strike was designed to minimise the risk to Afghan and US Forces conducting clearing operations in the area while maximising the destruction of ISIS fighters and facilities".

It is not immediately clear how much damage the bomb caused.

Military analyst Col Rick Francona said that it would "feel like a nuclear weapon to those in the area".

He said: "The pressure would send shockwaves through the tunnel systems and would kill everyone."

Col Francona said that anyone in a range of "hundreds of metres" would be killed.

The news comes as the world's gaze is fixed on Pyongyang and Syria – after the United States launched an air strike on Bashar al-Assad's territory.

Rex Tillerson has been in talks with Russian diplomats this week to calm the situation as the world lingers on the brink of war.

Russian President Vladimir Putin supports Trump in his determination to defeat the sick death cult – otherwise known as Daesh.

In January, Mr Trump gave the jihadis 30 days before he vowed to "bomb the s*** out of them".

Trump's foreign policy pledge said: "Pursue aggressive joint and coalition military operations to crush and destroy ISIS.

"International cooperation to cutoff their funding, expand intelligence sharing, and cyberwarfare to disrupt and disable their propaganda and recruiting.

"Defeat the ideology of radical Islamic terrorism just as we won the Cold War.”