Iraq Military Ordered to Drive Out ISIS by End of Year

Iraqi military commanders have been ordered to drive ISIS militants out of the country and into Syria by the end of the year, a defense official told NBC News on the condition of anonymity. However, he suggested that Iraqi officials appeared to be "over-optimistic." The source said: "Such an operation will cost us a lot and it is not going to be done within the next couple of months." Iraq's President Fuwad Masoom recently suggested a similar deadline, saying to the Arab League Summit in Egypt on Saturday that his country "is looking to defeat ISIS in Iraq within one year." On Wednesday, Iraqi government forces, backed by Shiite Muslim militias and U.S.-led airstrikes, claimed victory over the Sunni Muslim extremists in most of Tikrit after a month of fighting.

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