US ‘spends $9m a day’ fighting IS
Dhaka: The US has spent more than $2.7 billion on the war against Daesh in Iraq and Syria since bombings began last August, and the average daily cost is now more than $9 million, the Pentagon said on Thursday, international media reported.
Releasing a detailed breakdown of the costs for the first time, the Defence Department showed that the Air Force has borne two-thirds of the total spending, or more than $1.8 billion. The daily combat, reconnaissance and other flights eat up more than $5 million a day, said Associated Press.
The data also provided a rare look into the often secret special operations costs, which totalled more than $200 million since August.
The release of the spending totals came as Congress debated and rejected legislation on Thursday that would have banned spending on the combat operations until lawmakers passed a new war powers resolution.
Military operations cost have grown since airstrikes began in Iraq in August, and then expanded to Syria the following month. The bulk of the strikes has been in Iraq, as the US and coalition strikes have tried to help Iraqi forces retake key and hold key cities.
Other total costs include $438 million for the Navy, including fighters and other ship support; $274 million for the Army, which has trainers and special forces troops on the ground; $16 million for military pay; $646 million for munitions; and $21 million for intelligence and surveillance operations.