The Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi have said on Tuesday it would take three more months to rout Islamic State, as U.S.-backed forces battle to dislodge the militants from the stronghold of Mosul.“The Americans were very pessimistic. They used to talk about a really long period but the remarkable successes achieved by our brave and heroic fighters reduced that. I foresee that in Iraq it will take three months.” More than two months into the operation, elite Iraqi soldiers have retaken a quarter of Mosul. Besides Mosul, Islamic State still controls the towns of Tel Afar and Qaim as well as Hawija and the surrounding area. The fall of Mosul would probably end Islamic State’s ambition for a self-styled caliphate, but the fighters could still mount a more traditional insurgency in Iraq, and plot or inspire attacks on the West.
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