{"id":39152,"date":"2018-08-28T17:10:42","date_gmt":"2018-08-28T17:10:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/08\/28\/us-airstrikes-in-afghanistan-continue-to-climb-this-month-highest-in-a-decade\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T20:37:43","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T20:37:43","slug":"us-airstrikes-in-afghanistan-continue-to-climb-this-month-highest-in-a-decade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/flashpoints\/2018\/08\/28\/us-airstrikes-in-afghanistan-continue-to-climb-this-month-highest-in-a-decade\/","title":{"rendered":"US airstrikes in Afghanistan continue to climb this month, highest this decade"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Airstrikes in Afghanistan<\/a> are reaching historically high numbers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following a three-day cease-fire<\/a> in June, U.S. aircraft <\/a>continued to pound Taliban positions across Afghanistan to convince the insurgent force that negotiating with the Afghan government is their only option, according to a press release<\/a> and statistics provided by U.S. Air Forces Central Command <\/a>this month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For July, strike metrics saw highs across the board as the result of a surge in operations post-ceasefire, according to AFCENT.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe U.S. flew 749 strike sorties, 88 of which included a weapons release. Both are monthly highs this year,” according to the AFCENT press release accompanying the monthly statistics. “Also, the U.S. employed 746 weapons in July, the highest monthly total since November 2010.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The total number of weapons released this year, which includes both manned and unmanned platforms, tops out at 3,714. That number is higher than every year\u2019s total going back to 2013, with the exception of 2017. However, given that last year\u2019s number of weapon releases was 4,361, and each month anywhere from 300 to 700 weapons are dropped, this year is likely to top 2017 as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\t