Indispensable America dropped one bomb every eight minutes during first three days of Mosul offensive

SPUTNIK – During the first three days of the ongoing military operation to win the Iraqi city of Mosul back from Daesh control, the coalition carried out airstrikes at a rate of one bomb every eight minutes.

Iraqi security forces, assisted by the US-led coalition, the People’s Mobilization Forces (PMF) and Kurdish fighters are currently focused on liberating Mosul, the second largest city in the country and the last bastion of Daesh militants there.

Colonel Daniel Manning, deputy director of the Combined Air Operations Center, on Friday told Military.com in a telephone conversation that the intense bombing is what makes this anti-Daesh operation stand out, especially if you take into account that each of these bombs are precision-guided weapons.

“It’s a really high rate to be concentrated over one city over a prolonged period of time,” he said, adding that the intensity and efficacy of airstrikes depends on many things, such as weather — storms slow down the offensive even though there are sensors helping to look through them — and determination of partner forces.

“You tend to employ more weapons when the weather is better, and when your partner forces are on the move because when they’re on the move, they’re finding the enemy, forcing the enemy to reveal themselves, and we’re there to strike them,” Manning explained.

On October 17, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Abadi announced the start of a military operation to retake Mosul from Daesh with the help of airstrikes by the US-led international coalition.

The air coalition conducted more than 191 strikes through November 1, employing over 1,352 weapons for operations, according to Air Forces Central Command spokeswoman Kiley Dougherty.

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