Formally known as the GBU-43, or massive ordnance air blast (MOAB) bomb, it is colloquially known as the "mother of all bombs".
But the group has been steadily losing ground in the face of heavy pressure both from U.S. air strikes and a ground offensive led by Afghan forces.
The 11-ton bomb, guided by Global Positioning System satellites, detonated at 7:32 p.m. Thursday, local time, setting off a massive pressure wave that would have crushed the life out of any fighters in the caves.
In a message distributed on the instant messaging app Viber, the Taliban said the United States had "no justification" for using such a powerful bomb during combat operations, calling it a "show" by US forces to persuade the world it is battling the Islamic State.
The bomb was dropped on Achin district in Nangarhar province, the long-time home of the terrorist group in Afghanistan. As the Afghan Defence Ministry reported, there were no victims among peaceful civilians.
Afghan commandos arrive at Pandola village near the site of a US bombing in the Achin district of Jalalabad, east of Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, April 14, 2017.
The strike came as U.S. President Donald Trump prepares to dispatch his first high-level delegation to Kabul, amid uncertainty about his plans for the almost 9,000 American troops stationed in Afghanistan.
USA and Afghan officials said no civilians were reported killed and that US and Afghan Special Operations forces reached the site of the attack to assess the damage.
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"This is the right munition to reduce these obstacles and maintain the momentum of our offensive against ISIS-K", or the Islamic State in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Gen. John Nicholson, the commander of USA forces in Afghanistan, said in a statement.
He said the bombing was necessary because the tunnel complex was extremely hard to penetrate, with some as deep as 40m.
The commander of the U.S. forces in Afghanistan, General John Nicholson, defended the use of the bomb and confirmed the target of the strike was the network of tunnels that IS fighters use to move around and protect themselves from Afghan and USA forces.
"They (U.S) think of their own goals and the attack in reality was carried out against Russian Federation", one Kabul resident, Zahir said.
The United Nations has raised concerns that the American air campaign is swelling civilian casualties in Afghanistan.
The question is, if Al-Qaeda was these tunnels, and Isis was using these tunnels, why didn't Obama do this? Local governor Ismail Shinwari told AFP: "The explosion was the biggest I have ever seen". The U.S. has concentrated on fighting them while also supporting Afghan forces against the Taliban. In the past year, they have largely concentrated on thwarting a surge of attacks by the Taliban, who have captured key districts, such as Helmand province, which USA and British troops had fought bitterly to return to the government. The US is also investigating two of its own strikes in Iraq and Syria that Iraqi officials and activists say killed dozens of civilians.
The statement said it is the responsibility of Afghans, not the US, to remove the Islamic State group from the country.
While the war in Afghanistan has largely slipped from public consciousness in the USA, replaced by the conflict in Syria and ongoing tensions over North Korea, there are still around 8,400 US troops in the country engaged in counter-terrorism operations.
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