US defense secretary arrives in Iraq on unannounced visit to meet Iraqi leaders
BAGHDAD - US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis arrived in Iraq on Tuesday, just days after the start of an offensive to take back the city of Tal Afar, to speak with Iraqi leaders about the next steps in the fight against Islamic State.
Mattis has warned that the end of the militant group is far from close. Iraqi security forces launched an offensive to take back the city of Tal Afar on Sunday, their latest objective in the US-backed campaign to defeat Islamic State militants, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said.
A long-time stronghold of hardline Sunni Muslim insurgents, Tal Afar, 80 km (50 miles) west of Mosul in Iraq's far north, has experienced cycles of sectarian violence between Sunnis and Shi'ite Muslims.
"ISIS' days are certainly numbered, but it is not over yet and it is not going to be over anytime soon," Mattis told reporters in Amman.
Mattis said that after retaking Tal Afar, Iraqi forces would move against the western Euphrates river valley. He added that Iraqi security forces were capable of carrying out simultaneous operations.
