IRBIL, Iraq - A senior U.S. military commander is praising Iraqi forces fighting to recapture the northern city of Mosul from the Islamic State group. Brig. Gen. Rick Uribe tells The Associated Press that the Iraqi forces are "at their peak" and adjusting well to changing realities on the battlefield.

Speaking in Irbil, capital of the self-ruled Kurdish region in northern Iraq, Uribe said Iraqi forces north and south of Mosul have made progress since a new advance was launched last week after a two-week lull in fighting.

Uribe says he agrees with Iraqi prime minister's forecast that it will take another three months to liberate Mosul. The campaign began in mid-October.

Most of the major fighting inside the city has been done by Iraqi special forces, known as the Counter Terrorism Service. Since the new offensive began, the special forces have pushed forward in at least two neighborhoods in the city's eastern sector, while the army's 9th and 16th Divisions made headway south and north of the capital.