“Conditions indicate that Iraq needs three months to eliminate Daesh,” Iraqi TV quoted Abadi as saying on Tuesday following a government meeting in Baghdad.
The previous estimates by Abadi suggested that the northern Iraqi city, which has been held by Daesh since June 2014, would be liberated by the end of 2016. However, after having rapidly gained ground at approaches to Mosul in October, the Iraqi forces have since slowed down as they entered the city.
Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend, commander of the coalition forces battling Daesh in Iraq, said earlier that the coalition may need as much as two years to rout Daesh from its two self-proclaimed capitals of Mosul, in northern Iraq, and Raqqa in Syria, according to RT.
Referring to the Mosul campaign, Townsend said that during a past week the Iraqi forces have halted their advance further into the city to take a much-needed respite and replenish resources.
He claimed that Iraqi senior military officials are reluctant to admit that the offensive is not going as fast as they hoped.