ever used in combat on isis fighters there, and they call it the mother of all bombs or moab. we are learning more about this massive bomb strike on isis caves and tunnels in afghanistan. u.s. military officials say four isis commanders were among the 94 fighters killed on thursday. global affairs correspondent elise labott is joining us from washington. what do they say about the ongoing fight against isis? reporter: you know, 16 years in, you know, the taliban are really controlling more territory than they have since 2001 when the war began. this morning on abc news general h.r. mcmaster, the national security adviser, really spoke about the fight that the u.s. is facing not just against the taliban and al qaeda but also about isis. take a listen. what s clear here in afghanistan is the stakes are high. i mean this is this is really the modern-day frontier between
bomb ever used in combat was dropped. it s known as the mother of all bombs, or moab. we re learning more about this massive bomb strike on isis caves and tunnels. u.s. military officials now say four isis commanders were among the 94 fighters killed on thursday. mcmaster was asked in f he thought there should be more american troops in afghanistan during an interview this morning. listen. what s clear in afghanistan is the stakes are high. this is really the modern day frontier between bar barrism and civilizati civilization. we need to recognize that the taliban groups that we re fighting here, that the isis groups that we alongside really the afghan forces are fighting. we re enabling them in the eastern part of the country. they are a threat to all civilized people. and so the president has asked for a range of options. we ll give him those options.
four isis commanders among the 94 militants killed by the so-called mother of all bombs according to an afghan official. the u.s. dropped the massive non-nuclear bomb two days ago taking out isis caves and tunnels near afghanistan s border with pakistan. cnn pentagon correspondent barbara starr has more. reporter: the largest conventional bomb exploded above caves and tunnels in a remote area of eastern afghanistan. the top u.s. commanders adamant that the mission was only about killing isis. the timing of the use of this weapon was the simply the appropriate moment against this target to use this munition. it s to the related to outside events. it does deliver a psychological message to isis. one military official tells cnn the massive bomb is powerful enough to destroy nine city blocks. it will level that area and
that country sees fit. the rising tensions on the korean peninsula coming as vice president mike pence prepares to head to the region, himself. pence scheduled to arrive in south korea on sunday. this, the first stop on a ten-day trip that will take pence to japan, indonesia, australia and back around to hawaii. afghanistan s defense ministry says that at least 36 isis fighters were killed when the u.s. dropped a massive bomb on a tunnel complex in a remote eastern area of that country. yesterday. officials also say that several isis caves and ammunition caches were destroyed in thursday s attack. death penalty opponents gathering at the arkansas state capitol in little rock this afternoon. they are there to protest that state s plan to execute seven inmates in 11 days starting on monday. actor johnny depp among those making an appearance to protest the plan. state wants to carry out the lethal injections before a key drug expires at the end of this month. we re going to have much mo
is more vicious and more aggressive than its predecessor. [ speaking foreign language ] reporter: trump is always using aggressive words, he says, singling out the president s tweets. it is the u.s. that is threatening us. i ve had meetings on north korea. he s acting very, very badly. i will tell you. he s acting very badly. reporter: president trump has often tweeted about the, quote, menace of north korea. north korea is looking for trouble, he wrote. they have been playing the united states for years. he has promised to, quote, solve the problem. yesterday, when the u.s. dropped the mother of all bombs on isis caves in afghanistan, the president was asked if it was a message to north korea as well. i don t know if this sends a message. it doesn t make any difference if it does or not. north korea is a problem. the problem will be taken care of. reporter: the u.s. now sending the aircraft carrier, the uss vinson into the region. american troops conducting m