Saturday 30 August 2014

US military mission in Iraq costs $7.5 million a day


The US military’s bombing raids and other operations in Iraq cost about $7.5 million a day, the Pentagon said Friday.  

Since Islamic State (IS) militants seized territory in northern and western Iraq in June, President Barack Obama has deployed about 865 US troops to Iraq to bolster security for American diplomats and advise Baghdad government forces fighting the extremists.

Both manned and unmanned US aircraft have flown surveillance flights to track IS jihadists and since August 8, American warplanes have carried out more than 100 air strikes against the militants — most of them around the strategic Mosul dam in the north.

The price tag of the US military mission dating back to mid-June has “averaged $7.5 million a day,” Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby told reporters.
But the cost has varied day to day and “as our activities have intensified, so, too, has the cost,” Kirby said.

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