美防長訪問伊拉克，誓言擊潰伊斯蘭國

U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Tuesday Islamic State's "days are numbered," while cautioning that defeating the militant group is not imminent.

Mattis spoke to reporters before flying to Baghdad for an unannounced visit, where he met with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi.

The two discussed security cooperation and U.S. support for Iraqi security forces, Abadi said in a tweet. The Pentagon chief says stabilizing Iraq is "not going to happen overnight." "It's going to be a heavy lift for them going forward," Mattis noted.

U.S. forces have been leading a coalition of countries conducting airstrikes and other military operations in support of Iraq's military since August 2014, a few months after Islamic State fighters swept through large areas of northern and western Iraq. The Iraqi troops scored a major victory in July by recapturing control of Mosul, the nation's second largest city.

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

The U.S. coalition is also supporting efforts to expel Islamic State from areas it controls in neighboring Syria, including its de facto capital in the city of Raqqa.美國國防部長馬蒂斯週二表示，伊斯蘭國組織“天數已盡”，同時警告說，還不能立即打敗這個激進組織。

馬蒂斯在飛往巴格達進行事先未宣佈的訪問前對記者做出以上表示。他在巴格達會見了伊拉克總理阿巴迪。

阿巴迪在推特上發文說，兩人討論了安全合作和美國對伊拉克安全部隊的支持。美國防長表示伊拉克的穩定“不會一夜間實現”。馬蒂斯說“對他們來說將是艱難的前行。”

自2014年8月以來，美軍一直領導着由幾個國家組成的聯盟進行的空襲和其他軍事行動，對伊拉克軍隊提供支持。之前伊斯蘭國武裝掃蕩了伊拉克北部和西部大片地區。伊拉克部隊七月份取得一項重大勝利，收復了伊拉克第二大城市摩蘇爾。

星期天，伊拉克軍方爲收復摩蘇爾以西約60公里的泰勒阿費爾發動了攻勢。

美國領導的聯盟也在支持將伊斯蘭國從在伊拉克鄰國敘利亞控制的地區趕走的努力。伊斯蘭國實際上的首都拉卡就在那裏。