The U.S. Air Force is conducting an increasing number of airstrikes in Afghanistan, military officials have confirmed to FOX News.
Air Force officials said U.S. aircraft carried out more sorties against enemy targets, fired more cannon rounds and dropped more ordinance in Afghanistan so far in 2006 than in the first three years of the war combined.
At least 2,095 airstrikes have been carried out since June, including 397 in the month of October alone. U.S. aircraft dropped at least 987 bombs and fired more than 146,000 cannon rounds and bullets in 2006.
Pentagon officials say that the increase in air operations in the war torn country is in correlation with NATO and U.S. forces working to track down remnants of the Taliban and Al Qaeda loyalists. NATO took control over security operations in the southern part of Afghanistan this past summer.
Part of this increased commitment to airpower in Afghanistan includes moving B-1 bombers from a British air base at Diego Garcia to an airfield in the Middle East, much closer to Afghanistan, the Air Force said. Diego Garcia is in the heart of the Indian Ocean, almost 3,000 miles from Afghanistan.
In addition to military offensives, American aircraft have also been used to obtain useful intelligence about the enemy in key areas, Pentagon officials said.
FOX News' Mike Emanuel contributed to this report.
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