Coalition aircraft conducted 61 close air support missions in Afghanistan on June 17, Air Forces Central said in a release. In Iraq, there were 25 CAS missions on that day. The strikes in Afghanistan included F-15Es pounding enemy combatants in the vicinity of Bari Kowt with 2,000-pound joint direct attack munitions and a B-1B bomber hitting enemy forces near Musa Qal’eh with 500-pound JDAMs.
U.S. Southern Command recently announced its first lethal strike on a suspected narco-trafficking vessel in two months, and the first under a newly formed permanent counter-cartel task force. The U.S. is also reportedly planning to transfer MQ-9 drones to Colombia to bolster its counter-cartel efforts.