Austrian military expert Walter Fajchtinger points out that even after the Kurdish fighters conquered Kobani, we should count on years of fighting against ISIL.
The head of the Institute for Peacekeeping and Conflict Management believes that there has not yet been a turning point in the fight against jihadists.
Brigadier Fajhtinger, in a statement to the Viennese daily "Kurir", said that the loss of Kobani to the extremists is of "great symbolic importance" and a blow to the morale of their forces.
However, he pointed out that Kobani is a special case, because specially motivated and strategically well-prepared ground forces with the help of the American air force led to success.
"That constellation in other places is completely different," emphasized Fajchtinger.
In his opinion, it is only in Mosul, the second largest city in Iraq, which the fighters of the Islamic State took over last year, that it is possible to shake the extremists.
"Mosul would be very interesting for the Kurds because it would lead to a significant expansion of their power, but the Iraqi army also wants to recover this city," said the military expert.
He said that the takeover of Mosul cannot be achieved by just one group, because the Islamic State had enough time to prepare for a counteroffensive.
That is why Feichtinger does not believe in the imminent start of the operation to liberate Mosul.
In his opinion, the fight for Mosul would be bloodier than the one for Kobani, in which more than 1.000 jihadists and 460 Kurdish fighters died.
Feichtinger believes that the Islamic State withdrew from Kobani because of too many casualties.
"They have professional military strategists. Sacrificing further forces would not be wise, because they are needed elsewhere," he explained their actions.
Feichtinger is skeptical about the US assessment that in three years Iraqi forces could be ready to confront the Islamic State.
"It would also be important to win over the Sunni clans that have linked to the Islamic State. This would have a double effect - the Islamic State would be weakened and the anti-terrorist alliance would be strengthened by people who were in the fights," he stressed, adding that this conflict the international community will "deal with" for a long time.
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