Battle for Mosul could take months, France warns

French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian says the battle to retake the Iraqi city of Mosul from the Islamic State group could take “months.”

“It could be a long battle, it’s not a blitzkrieg… It’s a lengthy affair [lasting] several weeks, maybe months,” he tells reporters in Paris a day after the start of the offensive, led by Iraqi troops and backed by the US-headed coalition against IS, Iraqi Kurds, Turkey and even Iran.

A Kurdish peshmerga convoy drives towards the front line in Khazer, about 30 kilometers (19 miles) east of Mosul, Iraq, Monday, Oct. 17, 2016. (AP Photo)
A Kurdish peshmerga convoy drives towards the front line in Khazer, about 30 kilometers (19 miles) east of Mosul, Iraq, Monday, Oct. 17, 2016. (AP Photo)

— AFP

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