Story highlights Iraqi PM: Military forces are making advancements in Mosul

Mosul is ISIS' last major stronghold in Iraq

Irbil, Iraq (CNN) Iraqi security forces are advancing in Mosul and could defeat ISIS in the country "within three months," said Iraq's Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi.

The prime minister made his remarks Tuesday in a Baghdad press conference that was broadcast on Iraqiya State TV. His comments came as Iraqi forces prepare for the next phase of military operations in its fight to wrest the city of Mosul from ISIS control.

Since October, a coalition of Iraqi-led forces including the Iraqi army, counter-terrorism forces, federal police, Kurdish Peshmerga fighters and Shiite-led paramilitary forces have pushed to end ISIS' brutal rule in Mosul. The city remains the last major stronghold of ISIS after the militant group seized control in 2014.

What began as a rapid push into the city in early November has turned into a block-by-block war, with ISIS inflicting high casualty rates on advancing Iraqis.

Security officials told CNN that ISIS' vicious tactic of using civilians as human shields is slowing down the advance of Iraqi troops in eastern Mosul.

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