SOLDIERS fighting ISIS could take back strongholds in Mosul and Raqqa within months, claims a top US commander.

Army Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend said while touring Baghdad today “within the next six months I think we’ll see both [Mosul and Raqqa campaigns] conclude”.

Iraqi forces, backed by the US, have been fighting to take back Mosul since October last year.

The east of the city has been liberated but a battle remains to take back the western portion from the terror group.

Townsend added he expected operations to retake western Mosul to begin “in the next few days”, according to AP.

The city has been held since 2014 by ISIS and is the group’s last urban centre in the country.

In Raqqa in Syria Arab and Kurdish fighters have been working to take back the city, also with US backing.

A review of the strategy against ISIS was ordered by President Donald Trump in January.

This is looking at a possible change of rules of engagement for the battle.

Last month it was reported Iraqi Special Forces are fighting a cut-throat battle to clear the last remnants of the ISIS jihadists from eastern Mosul.

The Iraqi army has been involved in a bloody battle to kick the terror group out of Iraq’s third city for months.

A leading security expert has warned a deadly ISIS attack on American soil will occur and is likely to prompt a massive new US invasion of the Middle East.

The invasion would be forced by Donald Trump‘s hardline promises on jihadism and a public appetite for revenge, it is claimed.

Olivier Guitta, a security consultant who has worked with the Home Office, UN and NATO, told The Sun Online Trump would likely continue Obama’s reliance on drone strikes.

However, he warned that if Trump was serious about taking on ISIS this could require a “huge” ramp up of military in the region – a minimum of 50,000 additional troops.

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