Iraq 'months away' from fighting back against IS

The Iraqi army will need months to prepare itself for a counter-offensive against the Islamic State group (IS, formerly known as ISIS), according to senior US military officials.

Small-scale offensives take place frequently, but anything more coordinated is "not imminent".

IS trounced the Iraqi army in the spring and summer, taking towns such as Mosul, Iraq's third largest city, easily - as soldiers fled or were captured. Hundreds of Iraqi army soldiers are believed to have been executed by IS.

"We've seen them start to act like an army," one US official told reporters at US Central Command.

The Iraqi security forces, trained for

We've seen them start to act like an army. - Senior US military official

years by the US prior to its departure from Iraq, have suffered sectarian divisions, a breakdown in leadership and a loss of confidence. To compound their problems, they surrendered tanks, armoured personnel carriers, and other US-supplied military equipment when IS fighters seized Mosul.

The officials, who were not authorised to be quoted by name in discussing details of the US military strategy in Iraq and Syria, made it clear that no large Iraqi counter-offensive was feasible for the time being.

"It's well within their capability to do that, in the order of months, not years," the official said.

"It's not imminent."