Mattis: Daesh's days are numbered

BAGHDAD - 22 Aug 2017: US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said on Tuesday Daesh’s “days are numbered,” while cautioning that defeating the militant group is not imminent, Voice of America reported.

Mattis spoke to reporters before flying to Baghdad for an unannounced visit to meet with Iraqi government leaders and US commanders.

On Sunday, Iraq’s military launched an offensive to take back Tal Afar, an area about 60 kilometers west of Mosul.

The US coalition is also supporting efforts to expel Daesh from areas it controls in neighboring Syria, including its de facto capital in the city of Raqqa.

Mattis said Tuesday a focus of the Syrian campaign will be in the middle Euphrates valley, an area of Daesh control extending along the Euphrates River south of Raqqa from Der el-Zour to the Iraqi border.