London, Feb 16 (IANS): Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has said that the country's armed forces are preparing for an offensive to recapture the northern city of Mosul from the Islamic State (IS) terror group, media reported Monday.

Abadi told the BBC he hoped Mosul would be liberated by the end of the year, and with a minimum of casualties.

Mosul, which was home to more than a million people, was captured by IS in June 2014.

Abadi also said he had been "a bit frustrated" in his first few months in office by the slowness of international help for the fight against IS.

But in recent weeks, he added, the situation had changed for the better.

Abadi replaced his party colleague, Nouri al-Maliki, as prime minister in September.

Maliki, a Shia Muslim, was widely criticised for alienating Iraq's Sunni Arab minority by pursuing sectarian policies.

Soldiers and allied Shia militiamen have now begun to retake territory north of the capital Baghdad with the help of US-led coalition air strikes, while Kurdish Peshmerga forces have made advances around Mosul.