US official says anti-Islamic State forces gaining momentum

Senate Foreign Relations Committee member Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla. listens on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 28, 2016, as Special Presidential Envoy Brett McGurk, the U.S. representative to the anti-Islamic State coalition, testified before the committee. (AP Photo/Lauren Victoria Burke) (The Associated Press)

prev next

Senate Foreign Relations Committee member Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va. listens on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 28, 2016, as Special Presidential Envoy Brett McGurk, the U.S. representative to the anti-Islamic State coalition, testified before the committee. (AP Photo/Lauren Victoria Burke) (The Associated Press)

U.S. Special Presidential Envoy Brett McGurk, the U.S. representative to the anti-Islamic State coalition, testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 28, 2016, before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. McGurk said morale inside the extremist group is plummeting as the forces arrayed against it are gaining momentum. (AP Photo/Lauren Victoria Burke) (The Associated Press)

WASHINGTON – The U.S. representative to the anti-Islamic State coalition says morale inside the extremist group is plummeting as the forces arrayed against it are gaining momentum.

During congressional testimony Tuesday, Special Presidential Envoy Brett McGurk says the Islamic State's days in Mosul, Iraq's second largest city, are "numbered."

The Islamic State remains firmly in control of Mosul, which was once home to a million people.

Iraqi leaders have pledged to liberate Mosul this year. But McGurk says the U.S. won't put a timeline on the Mosul operation.

McGurk's testimony comes two weeks after a lone gunman who pledged solidarity with the Islamic State killed 49 people and injured 53 at an Orlando nightclub.

McGurk says no direct link has been found between the Orlando gunman and the Islamic State.