KUWAIT CITY, September 25. /ITAR-TASS/. Washington is spending $87 every second on the airstrikes against the Islamic State (IS) targets in Syria and Iraq, the Al Arabiya TV Channel reported on Thursday.

The US involvement in the crisis costs taxpayers $312,000 per hour, and the expenditure rate is expected to grow even more if Americans support more massive airstrikes.

As part of the strikes on Tuesday, the US fired 47 Tomahawk cruise missiles, worth around $1.59 million each. The missiles were launched from USS Arleigh Burke and USS Philippine Sea operating in the Red Sea and North Arabian Gulf.

The effort also involved fifth generation US stealth F-22 Raptor fighter jets, with maintenance costs estimated at least at $67,000 per hour.

The US Central Command on Monday announced a decision to launch airstrikes on the Syrian targets of the IS, also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS) or the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

Over the past three days, several dozen militants have been killed, with activists claiming that there are victims among the civilian population, including four children.

US military experts characterize civilian deaths as “collateral damage.