US fight against ISIS costs $1B and counting

U.S. military operations against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) have surpassed the $1 billion mark, Pentagon spokesman William Urban said Monday.

“As of Dec. 11, 2014, the total cost of operations related to [ISIS] since kinetic operations started on Aug. 8, 2014 is $1.02 billion and the average daily cost is $8.1 million,” he said. 

{mosads}Kinetic operations are the airstrikes the U.S. first launched in Iraq in early August and then expanded to Syria in September. The latest figures encompass all associated operations costs, not just airstrikes, Urban said.

The total cost, however, excludes other U.S. activities the Obama administration began in June to kick off the campaign to degrade and destroy ISIS. 

This comes as Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel authorized the deployment of 1,300 additional U.S. troops to Iraq last week. This group is part of the 1,500 troops Obama authorized in November.

Since August, the U.S. has launched more than 1,360 airstrikes against ISIS targets in Iraq and Syria. More than 100 airstrikes were conducted last week in Iraq alone.

Pentagon spokesman Rear Adm. John Kirby acknowledged last week’s “big spike” in airstrikes to prepare the Kurdish peshmerga for operations they conducted around Mount Sinjar in Iraq.