US spends $9 million every day fighting against ISIS

News, US June 12, 2015 , by IRIA No Comments

The US spends more than $9 million a day fighting Islamic State and has poured $2.7 billion into the international coalition’s bombing campaign.

The United States has spent more than $2.74 billion in its offensive against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria since airstrikes targeting ISIS positions began last August, the Pentagon has announced. The average daily expenditure for the U.S. in the fight against ISIS now stands at over $9 million. An international coalition has been conducting air strikes in Iraq and Syria since last August.

The first breakdown of US costs, released by the Pentagon, show that two-thirds of the total bill has gone to the Air Force. It came as Congress rejected legislation banning further spending.

Flights for daily raids, surveillance and other activities cost more than $5 million a day, and over $200 million has been spent on secret special operations since August. Other costs include $438 million for the Navy, $274 million for the Army, $16 million for military pay, $646 million for munitions and $21 million for intelligence and surveillance operations, according to reports.

The US House of Representative approved a $579bn defence spending bill. It rejected an amendment calling for a stop to cash going on the fight against IS unless Congress passed a new authorization for the use of force. The cost of the US military operation has risen sharply since it began last August in Iraq.

This week, the White House announced another 450 advisers for Iraq, bringing the total military personnel to 3,500. But officials emphasise there are no combat troops and the US mission is to train local forces to do the fighting.

On Thursday, the top general in the US said the country’s intervention in Iraq could extend further. General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the role of calling in air strikes, which would put troops nearer the front lines, remained a future option. And he raised the possibility of establishing a network of US training hubs in northern Iraq.