The U.S. Is Spending $7.5 Million a Day on Iraq Operations

 By 
Brian Ries
 on 
The U.S. Is Spending $7.5 Million a Day on Iraq Operations
Peshmerga soldiers watch and wait for the Islamic state to attack on Aug. 26. Credit: Martin Alan Smith/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images

U.S. military operations targeting Islamic State militants in Iraq cost $7.5 million a day on average, Pentagon Press Secretary Adm. John Kirby said on Friday.

The operations have been ongoing since mid-June when President Obama announced in June that he was sending a "small number" of military advisers to Iraq to support security forces.

The U.S. began the targeted airstrikes on Aug. 8. Since then, the military has conducted a total of 101 airstrikes across Iraq, adding up to a total of $500 million.

.@PentagonPresSec says US spending av $7.5m a day since June 16th. 75 days = >$500m so far on operations in #Iraq— Jon Williams (@WilliamsJon) August 29, 2014

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Pentagon Press Secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby answers questions at the Pentagon August 22, 2014 in Arlington, Virginia. Credit: Win McNamee/Getty Images

The money is comes out of the Overseas Contingency Operations fund, which has a $79.4 billion annual budget. According to the Department of Defense's 2014 budget request, the billions in funding was earmarked to support Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) –- mostly in Afghanistan –- though some was flagged to go towards the transition in Iraq.

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