Brett McGurk, U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter IS, addresses a press conference at the U.S. embassy in Amman, Jordan, on Nov. 6, 2016. The military operation against the Islamic State (IS) group in Iraq's Mosul is ahead of schedule, said U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter IS here Sunday. (Xinhua/Mohammad Abu Ghosh)
AMMAN, Nov. 6 (Xinhua) -- The military operation against the Islamic State (IS) group in Iraq's Mosul is ahead of schedule, said U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter IS here Sunday.
The envoy, Brett McGurk, told a press conference that it is the third week of the operation and "everything is ahead of schedule."
Iraqi security forces, along with Shiite and Kurdish militia with the support of the U.S.-led coalition started an offensive on Mosul in October to retake the city, which fell to IS group in 2014.
McGurk said the coalition is also providing support to the Syrian Democratic Forces in an operation to retake Syria's Raqqa from IS, stressing that there is no coordination with the Syrian regime or the Russians regarding the operation.
He stressed during the press conference at the U.S. embassy in Amman that days of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the IS leader, are numbered, saying that it is only a matter of time to eliminate him and his movement.
The U.S. official said the coalition will also make sure that IS does not move to the south of Syria to represent a threat to the neighboring Jordan.
Earlier in the day, King Abdullah II of Jordan met with McGurk to discuss cooperation and progress in the fight against terrorism.
Related:
Iraqi forces free town from IS in south of Mosul
MOSUL, Iraq, Oct. 29 (Xinhua) -- The Iraqi security forces on Saturday freed a town from Islamic State (IS) group in south of the group's stronghold of Mosul, as major anti-IS offensive continued to seize more ground around the city, a security source told Xinhua.
The federal police and paramilitary Hashd Shaabi units managed to liberate the central part of the town of Shoura, some 30 km south of Mosul, and raised the Iraqi flag on the local government building after fierce clashes with IS militants since the early morning hours, a source from the Operations Command of Nineveh Liberation told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.Full Story
