ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY

The U.S. is at an important moment in the “serious business” of eradicating the threat of Islamic State militants in Iraq, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Saturday in Baghdad.

Speaking with U.S. troops, Carter said the battle to retake Mosul is an important step in the campaign. “It's not a game,” he said. “It's necessary business because it's necessary to protect our country and to protect the rest of the world.”

“We will defeat ISIL,” he said, using the abbreviation for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.