Maj.-Gen. Joseph Martin, Commander of Operation Inherent Resolve’s Combined Joint Forces Land Component Command says the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is running out of options as the coalition closes in against the terrorist group.
Martin, in a statement issued by Pentagon said the coalition would continue to support the Iraqi forces until the country is liberated from ISIS.
“We will continue to support them until all the Iraqis are liberated and the country is free to choose its own future.
“The fight has cost the lives of many brave Iraqi security forces personnel and innocent civilians.
“There is still tough fighting ahead, and the coalition will go anywhere the Iraqis go.
“The military defeat of ISIS in Iraq is inevitable, and we will help the Iraqis achieve that.
“The enemy is encircled and running out of options”, the coalition commander said.
According to him, the coalition continues to support the Iraqi forces by providing joint coalition fires, adding progress has been steady but slow at times.
“It’s metered by the diversity of the terrain and the stiff resistance they face or they don’t face but each day there’s progress,” Martin said.
He said Iraqi security forces were making progress every day against the ISIS in West Mosul, adding the fight to liberate Mosul from ISIS brutality has been hard-fought and long.
The Iraqi security forces have liberated hundreds of thousands of civilians in Mosul since October, and life is returning to normal in portions of the city, he said.
Over the last two years, Iraqi forces have liberated more than three million civilians, he added.
“The Iraqi forces have taken the fight to the enemy and sacrificed their blood for the people of Iraq. I’m honoured to serve by their side in this endeavor,” he said.
East Mosul was liberated in January, however, in west Mosul, many Iraqis remain under the domination of ISIS terror, Martin said, adding that the coalition stands united, side by side with Iraq’s government and people. (NAN)