Iraqi and American military officials have intensified talks in recent weeks of a major offensive against Daesh, casting it as a quickly approaching operation that is likely to target the extremists’ stronghold in the northern city of Mosul, read a report by the New York Times.
But at the same time, Iraqi commanders, soldiers and police officers who could play a central role in any offensive "are raising doubts about the readiness of Iraq’s ground forces," the report said.
The army has struggled to recapture even smaller towns that pose less of a challenge than Mosul — Iraq’s second-largest city, which is still full of civilians and heavily defended by the militants, they say.
“Our assessment shows an offensive against Mosul is not imminent,” said head of the Kurdistan Region Security Council Masrour Barzani.
He said it would take more time to train security forces, and a greater effort by Iraq’s central government was needed to win the support of local Sunni residents and tribes around Mosul.
The report highlighted urgency about the offensive reflects intensifying pressures on the Iraqi government and American military planners to deliver a signal achievement more than eight months after the Daesh militants stormed Mosul and other parts of western and northern Iraq.
It also shed light on sectarian and ethnic tensions which have been increasing.
"As Shiite and Kurdish militiamen have made gains against Daesh — in general, more so than Iraq’s security forces — some of the militia fighters have carried out retaliatory attacks on Sunni residents, accusing them of loyalty to the militants."
Quoting US officials, the report said, they are trying to balance the Iraqi government’s desire to move quickly toward Mosul against real concerns about repeating the mistakes that led to the collapse of the Iraqi military and the quick advance of Daesh.
“There is emotional energy across the country to get this done as quickly as possible,” one American official in Baghdad acknowledged, saying that Iraqi officials were “committed” to preparing for the offensive.
“There is much work to do," the paper cited the official who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of discussing planning for a future military operation.
Source: MENA