Iraq declares final victory over Islamic State

Monday, 11 December 2017 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

BAGHDAD (Reuters): Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared final victory over Islamic State on Saturday after Iraqi forces drove its last remnants from the country, three years after the militant group captured about a third of Iraq’s territory.

A member of Iraqi Federal Police waves an Iraqi flag as they celebrate victory of military operations against the Islamic State militants in West Mosul, Iraq July 2, 2017 - REUTERS

The announcement comes two days after the Russian military announced the defeat of the militants in neighbouring Syria, where Moscow is backing Syrian government forces.

Iraqi forces recaptured the last areas still under Islamic State control along the border with Syria, the military said.

“Honourable Iraqis: your land has been completely liberated. The dream of liberation is now a reality,” Abadi said in a televised address. He was speaking with five Iraqi flags and dozens of servicemen from different branches behind him.

“We have accomplished a very difficult mission. Our heroes have reached the final strongholds of Daesh and purified it. The Iraqi flag flies high today over all Iraqi lands.”

Daesh is an Arabic acronym for Islamic State, also known as ISIS.

Several squadrons of Iraqi helicopters flew over Baghdad carrying Iraqi flags at noon, in an apparent rehearsal for a victory parade that Iraq is planning to hold in coming days.

The government said the declaration meant Iraqi forces had secured the western desert and the entire Iraq-Syria border, and marked the end of the war against Islamic State.

Abadi declared Dec. 10 a national holiday to be celebrated every year. State television aired celebratory songs praising government forces and militias, and showed scenes of celebration on the streets of Baghdad and other provinces.

The US-led coalition that has been supporting the Iraqi forces against Islamic State welcomed the news, as did Brett McGurk, the US Special Presidential Envoy to the coalition.

“We congratulate the Prime Minister and all the Iraqi people on this significant achievement, which many thought impossible,” he said in a series of tweets.

“We honour the sacrifices of the Iraqi people, its security forces, and the Kurdish Peshmerga, and admire the unity in their ranks that had made this day possible.”

The US State Department also issued a statement of congratulation.

Mosul, the group’s de facto capital in Iraq, fell in July after a gruelling nine-month campaign backed by a US-led coalition that saw much of the northern Iraqi city destroyed.

Islamic State’s Syrian capital Raqqa also fell to a US-backed Kurdish-led coalition in September.

The forces fighting Islamic State in Iraq and Syria now expect a new phase of guerrilla warfare, a tactic the militants have already shown themselves capable of.

Abadi said Iraq had entered “the post-victory over Daesh phase” and must be prepared for future threats.

“Daesh’s dream is over and we must erase all its effect and not allow terrorism to return. Despite announcing final victory, we must remain vigilant and prepared against any terrorist attempt on our country, for terrorism is an eternal enemy.”

The war has had a devastating impact on the areas previously controlled by the militants. About 3.2 million people remain displaced, a UN statement said on Saturday.