The U.S. military released a video on Friday of an airstrike against an Islamic State armed truck near the Iraqi Kurdistan capital of Erbil that was carried out on Aug. 26.
The soundless video shows truck driving along a road until it is eradicated by the blast.
The U.S. first sent advisers to Iraq on June 16 and ramped up its involvement with targeted airstrikes that began on Aug. 8 after Islamic State (formerly known as ISIS/ISIL) militants attacked Kurdish forces near Erbil, where American personnel were stationed.
The operations have cost $7.5 million per day, for a total of $500 million since June.
Islamic State fighters are known for the brutality and speed of their military campaigns. They burst from Syria in mid-June to lead a series of quick strikes across much of northern Iraq, taking many long-time observers by surprise, and they seem to revel in executing civilians and opposing forces alike.
The militants had suffered no major setbacks until the U.S. air campaign began. The American Air Force worked in tandem with Kurdish ground forces to push the radicals back past a key dam in Mosul, Iraq, which supplies water and electricity to large parts of northern Iraq.
Despite questions on whether the U.S. should strike the Islamic State in Syria as well, President Barack Obama said Thursday that the military has no current plans to escalate its campaign.
Instead, he hopes to broaden a coalition of nations who will contribute to a broad strategy to blunt the group's advance, and is deliberating on how to erase the Islamic State's presence in Syria.