Dead ISIS fighters in Mosul. (Photo : Iraqi Army)
The destruction of ISIS or ISIL in Iraq and Syria might take two more years of bitter and costly fighting that will nonetheless lead to the extermination of this murderous group's military capabilities.
U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Stephen J. Townsend, Commander, Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve and the Army's XVIII Airborne Corps, said it might take two more years to completely cleanse Mosul and Raqqa of ISIS, and destroy the scattered remnants of ISIS' fighting force that will likely escape into the vast desert between Syria and Iraq.
Gen. Townsend, who is half-German and half-Afghan, said the campaign that will lead to the extermination of ISIS is going, but is proceeding as well as can be expected. This because ISIS has had time to prepare its defenses and the fighting is extremely brutal.
Gen. Townsend said the Iraqi Army and its coalition forces have paused in their fight for Mosul over the past week. The Iraqis have been fighting in Mosul since Oct. 17.
The Iraqis are taking stock and resupplying units. Casualties have been higher than expected, with losses in some units as high as 30 percent.
"People need to rest. They need to assess how things are going because they are not going as fast as we thought," said Gen. Townsend.
The Iraqis are now feeding fresh reinforcements into the fight, as well as restocking with ammunition.
Media reports suggest Iraqi combat deaths are higher than those for ISIS, but the campaign has devolved into a war of attrition the Iraqis are bound to win since they heavily outnumber ISIS.
Iraq's Joint Military Command on Dec. 26 announced that 100 ISIS fighters were killed by Iraqi and coalition forces on Christmas Day in Mosul. The terrorists were killed in three separate actions.
Iraqi, Kurdish Peshmerga, tribal militia and coalition forces launched the offensive in October to retake Mosul, the last ISIS held city in Iraq.
Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR) is the Joint Task Force established by the international, U.S.-led coalition against ISIS and was set-up by the U.S. Central Command to coordinate military efforts against ISIS.
