Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Saturday declared victory in a three-year war by Iraqi forces to expel the Islamic State (IS) extremist group that at its height endangered Iraq’s very existence.
“Our forces are in complete control of the Iraqi-Syrian border and I therefore announce the end of the war against DAESH,” al-Abadi told a news conference in Baghdad, using an Arabic acronym for the militant group.
“Our enemy wanted to kill our civilization, but we have won through our unity and our determination. We have triumphed in little time,” he said, hailing Iraq’s “heroic armed forces.”
Photo: AFP
As the authorities announced a public holiday yesterday “to celebrate the victory,” al-Abadi said in a speech at the Iraqi Ministry of Defense that the country’s next battle would be to defeat the scourge of corruption.
The IS seized vast areas north and west of Baghdad in a lightning offensive in 2014.
With Iraq’s army and police retreating in disarray at the time, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, spiritual leader of the country’s majority Shiites, called for a general mobilization, leading to the formation of Hashed al-Shaabi paramilitary units.
Iraq’s fightback was also launched with the backing of an air campaign waged by a US-led coalition, recapturing town after town from the clutches of the extremists in fierce urban warfare.
The US Department of State hailed the end of the IS’ “vile occupation,” but added that the fight was not over.
“The United States joins the government of Iraq in stressing that Iraq’s liberation does not mean the fight against terrorism, and even against ISIS, in Iraq is over,” department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said, using an alternative acronym for the extremist group.
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