"Today, we as members of the coalition, resolve to follow through with that same sense of urgency and focus on enveloping and collapsing ISIL's control over Raqqa as well," he said, noting the groundwork has begun to commence the isolation of the Syrian city.
A core objective of the campaign, he noted, is to destroy ISIL's "parent tumor” in Iraq and Syria. "And we're on track to do just that," he added.
Mosul Battle 'Long Time Coming'
Ten days ago, Iraqi forces launched the operation to retake Mosul from ISIL’s two-year control, and are on their way to collapsing enemy control over the city, he said.
“This battle has been a long time coming, but it was important for our partners to take the time to build their capacity, to plan, prepare and posture the right forces and to incorporate lessons learned from previous battles in the campaign,” Carter said in his remarks opening the counter-ISIL conference. “It’s also critical that the Iraqi security forces are in the lead, with every country operating with full respect for Iraqi sovereignty.”
The secretary said his meetings with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Abadi in Baghdad and Kurdistan Regional Government President Masoud Barzani in Irbil went well, and he commended both leaders for achieving unity and historic military cooperation as they lead their Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga security forces fighting ISIL.
“We could not ask for two better partners,” he said. “They’ve both kept their word. They’ve set aside their differences and united in shared resolve against their common enemy, ISIL. Since the start of this operation, the noose has been tightening around Mosul from multiple axes of attack.”
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