The Iraqi prime minister said that Daesh will be wiped out of the country by the end of the year. According to online newspaper Iraqi News, Haider al-Abadi made such a pledge while speaking at a conference in Baghdad on Saturday. Political analyst and Middle East expert, Ali Rizk discussed with Sputnik if the pledge is possible.

Looking at the prime minister�s goals, Rizk told Sputnik, �His statements coincide with the time frame of Obama leaving the White House. As we know Obama has been very local about dealing strategic blows to Daesh so domestically it would be a very important achievement for his legacy.�

He further said that the US military announced that it would begin operations to retake Mosul in October. So it seems like the Obama administration sees this operation as their agenda before the current president leaves office.

�In addition to that, there are other countries that are also interested in eliminating Daesh. We should focus on Iran as it is a neighboring country to Iraq and any expansion of Daesh in Iraq could pose a national security threat to neighboring Iran. That is why Iran has been supporting Iraq in fight against Daesh,� the analyst said.

According to him, Daesh has made enemies such as Russia, Iran and the US; hence, �Abadi�s estimation of eliminating Daesh is quite realistic,� Abadi said. He further said that if Abadi can establish himself as the minister who was able to inflict defeat over Daesh that in itself it would be a very significant outcome for Abadi.

�Abadi has a lot of political capital invested in this fight and that is why Abadi will accept help from any country,� Rizk said. He further spoke about how this year the border has been in focus in the fight against the terrorists in order to prevent them from being pushed into Syria once they escape Iraq.

�The Iraqi-Syrian battlefield is being treated as one from all sides so those who should be fearful of a return, it is not a return of fighters from Syria or Iraq to Syria or Iraq, it is the return of these fighters to their countries of origin.� Reports suggest that Daesh currently controls some 14% of Iraq's total territory compared to the roughly one-third that it held two years ago. According to online newspaper Iraqi News, Haider al-Abadi made a pledge of wiping out the terrorists by the end of the year during a conference in Baghdad on Saturday.

By Sputnik News