The Iraqi prime minister said Tuesday that it’ll take about three months to defeat the Islamic State in Iraq.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Abadi reportedly said on state TV that conditions in Iraq suggest it’ll take just three months to eliminate the Islamic State in his country, where the fight to drive the terrorists out of Mosul is progressing.
But completely eradicating the group from both Iraq and Syria could take much longer. Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend, the leader of coalition forces in Iraq, told the Daily Beast this weekend that it will take two years to completely defeat the terrorist group from both Iraq and Syria.
Planning is underway for the offensive to retake Raqqa, the Islamic State’s capital in Syria. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said in October that the isolation phase would begin “in the next few weeks.”
Experts have also stressed that defeating the Islamic State on the ground in Iraq and Syria will not be the end of the terrorist group. Instead, the cyber caliphate, including ISIS’ ability to inspire and plan attacks around the world, will become the next target.
