"We lost 19 airmen, eight of whom were due to enemy activity," James told reporters on Monday. The air campaign against Daesh "is taking its toll on our airmen [and] our aircraft," she added.
Earlier on Monday, the Obama administration announced its plans to release an assessment of civilian and combatant casualties from its counterterrorism operations in the past six years and that it would disclose the information on an annual basis going forward.
Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Lisa Monaco said on Monday that the administration would soon release the first assessment report, but that it would likely exclude casualties from Syria and Iraq where the US-led coalition has been carrying out airstrikes against Islamic State insurgents since 2014.
