Mosul could be liberated in 3 months, top Iraqi commander says

Fierce Islamic State counterattacks have killed and injured hundreds of Iraqi troops and inflicted considerable damage to Iraqi military equipment.

The U.S.-led coalition bombed the bridges spanning the Tigris River connecting Mosul’s east and west in November in an effort to stop the flow of car bombs to Iraqi frontline positions in the eastern half of the city.

Shaghati, the top commander of Iraq’s special forces and the commander of Iraq’s Joint Military Operation said that while many forces are participating in the Mosul fight, Iraq’s special forces are the only troops with the skills to fight Islamic State.

“The forces who have the skills to fight guerrilla warfare is only the CTS,” he said using an alternative acronym for Iraq’s special forces who are also called the counter-terrorism forces.

For the Mosul operation to continue, Shaghati said Iraqi forces need to continue to receive support and equipment from the U.S-led coalition.

Since the Mosul operation began, the coalition says its planes have conducted thousands of air strikes in and around Iraq’s second largest city.