'Mother of all bombs'

Pope Francis angered by America's 'mother of all bombs' name

"I was ashamed when I heard the name," the pontiff told an audience of students at the Vatican.

"A mother gives life and this one gives death, and we call this device a mother. What is going on?" he asked.

Last month the US dropped such a bomb, which weighs 21,600lb (9,800kg), on Islamic State militants in Afghanistan.

The Pentagon said it was dropped from a US aircraft in Nangarhar province, targeting tunnel complex used by IS.

'Mother Of All Bombs' could be felt as far as Pakistan

On Friday, American forces dropped one of the largest conventional bombs ever used in combat on what they described as a tunnel complex used by Islamic State militants in Nangarhar's Achin district.

In Achin village, about 5 kilometres from the remote, mountainous area where the bomb was dropped, witnesses said the ground shook, but homes and shops appeared unaffected.