While Iraqi forces are making “deliberate progress,” the liberation of the Islamic State’s putative capital is still weeks away as troops are meeting “tough resistance,” according to the second-in-command of the counter-Islamic State coalition in Iraq.

“We expect tough fighting to continue in the weeks ahead,” said British Maj. Gen. Rupert Jones, deputy commander for Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve, who said the Islamic State’s defeat in Mosul is inevitable.