US fight against ISIS edges toward $4 billion

http://thehill.com/policy/finance/251989-us-fight-against-isis-edges-toward-4-billion

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By Rebecca Shabad - 08/26/15 10:55 AM EDT

The cost of the U.S. military campaign against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is approaching $4 billion, just over a year after the Pentagon began launching airstrikes against the terror group.

"As of Aug. 15, 2015, the total cost of operations related to ISIL since kinetic operations started on Aug. 8, 2014, is $3.7 billion and the average daily cost is $9.9 million for 373 days of operations,” said Defense spokesman Bill Urban, using the administration's preferred acronym for the group.

The updated figures were posted on Tuesday night.

In mid-July, the U.S. had surpassed the $3 billion mark in the fight against ISIS.

An updated breakdown of the total cost, released by the Pentagon, shows that the daily average cost of operations has increased slightly.

In the first few weeks of the campaign, when the U.S. began launching airstrikes against ISIS in Iraq, the average daily cost was $5.6 million.

Since the airstrikes were expanded to Syria in mid-September 2014, the daily average cost of operations has increased to $10.5 million.

Half of the cost has gone toward airstrikes, according to the Pentagon. Just under a quarter of the money has been spent on weapons, with the rest spent on missions involving military carriers and other operations.

The cost of the ISIS fight crossed the $1 billion mark last December and the $2 billion mark in April.