More than 1,700 bombs dropped in US-led air war

MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE: US and allied aircraft have flown nearly 6,600 sorties in the air war against the IS group and dropped more than 1,700 bombs, the American military said Thursday.
The flights for “Operation Inherent Resolve” include thousands of mid-air fueling runs, surveillance sorties and 632 air strikes in Iraq and Syria, according to US Central Command.
The latest tally was released one month since the US-led coalition extended its air campaign from Iraq into Syria, in a bid to counter the advance of the IS men.
The effect of the open-ended air campaign remains the subject of debate, with the White House saying the militants have been damaged by the strikes and critics pointing to the group’s battlefield successes despite the raids.
Coalition aircraft have targeted IS militants with more than 1,700 bombs and missiles since Aug. 8 in both Iraq and Syria, Central Command said in a statement.
Washington often stresses that a broad coalition is fighting the Islamic State militants, but US aircraft have conducted the overwhelming majority of the strikes so far.
Out of 632 bombing raids, non-US coalition members, including four Arab states, carried out only 79 of the strikes, Central Command said.
In Iraq, aircraft from Australia, Belgium, Britain, and the Netherlands have taken part in the strikes along with the US.
And in Syria, the Americans have been joined by combat aircraft from Bahrain, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, it said.