ISIS driven out of ALL CORNERS of Iraq as PM declares an END to fight against terror group
IRAQ has declared an end to its three-year war against Islamic State after driving the last remnants of the terror cult out of the country.
By WILL KIRBY
Express.co.uk
Sat, Dec 9, 2017
Despite once controlling almost a third of Iraq’s territory, prime minister Haider al-Abadi announced today that the military has recaptured the last remaining areas under ISIS control near the Syrian border.
Squadrons of Iraqi helicopters flew over the capital Baghdad carrying Iraqi flags at midday in an apparent rehearsal for a victory parade set to take place over the next few days.
The government announced via its official Twitter account: “Commander-in-Chief @HaiderAlAbadi announces that Iraq’s armed forces have secured the western desert & the entire Iraq Syria border, says this marks the end of the war against Daesh terrorists who have been completely defeated and evicted from Iraq.”
Abide later tweeted: “Our heroic armed forces have now secured the entire length of the Iraq-Syria border. We defeated Daesh through our unity and sacrifice for the nation. Long live Iraq and its people.”
Theresa May has congratulated her Iraqi counterpart Haider al-Abadi on successfully forcing Islamic State from most of the country, but warned the extremist group are “not yet defeated”.
Islamic State’s stranglehold over Iraq has gradually deteriorated this year as a US-led coalition held the Iraqi government regain control.
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.
However, ISIS is still expected to remain a threat for Iraqi authorities for years to come as remaining militants look set to employ guerrilla tactics to try to regain control.
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