US Helicopters Join Air War in Iraq against ’ISIL’: Up to $1.1B Spent

Local Editor

The US military has started flying attack helicopters against the "ISIL" militants in Iraq for the first time, officials said Monday, marking an escalation in the air war that puts American troops at higher risk.

US Central Command, which is overseeing the air campaign in Iraq and Syria, said helicopters took part in strikes on Sunday and Monday in Iraq.

"It has a capability that was asked for by the Iraqi government," said spokesman Major Curtis Kellogg.

He further added: "It was a capability that was available, that was requested, and it was a fit."

Flying at a lower altitude and at a slower speed than fighter jets and bombers, the helicopter gunships are more vulnerable to hostile ground fire.
The higher risk for troop casualties comes despite President Barack Obama's pledge not to send a ground force to fight the war, promising "no boots on the ground."

Officials said privately the helicopters were Apache aircraft, which can linger over targets and strike at close distance with heavy fire power.
"It's a natural progression," said a US military official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. In a fluid battle, helicopters can offer the best option instead of "fast movers."

But he added: "It's more vulnerable. No question about it."

The Pentagon has spent as much as $1.1 billion on US military operations against "ISIL" in Iraq and Syria since the mission began in mid-June, including more than $62 million alone in Navy airstrikes and Tomahawk cruise missiles.
US Central Command, in data released Monday, said that the Navy had dropped roughly 185 munitions, including 47 cruise missiles launched from ships in the region.

Central Command said Air Force fighter jets had far exceeded those numbers, launching close to 1,000 munitions. The data released Monday broke out the $62 million spent on Navy munitions, but provided no cost estimates for Air Force munitions.

The bulk of the Navy costs were for the 47 Tomahawk cruise missiles fired by American warships in the Gulf and the Red Sea that targeted the Khorasan Group, an al-Qaeda cell, in eight locations west of the city of Aleppo in Syria.
 
The costs of the operations began at a much lower rate in June then escalated as airstrikes began in northern Iraq on Aug. 8. In late August, the Pentagon said the cost was an average of $7.5 million daily. The airstrikes were expanded to Syria in September, prompting the latest, higher average estimates.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team