Iraq declares 'complete victory' over Islamic State

“All Iraqi lands are liberated from terrorist Daesh gangs,” the army said.

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BAGHDAD: The Iraqi military has achieved a “complete victory” over the Islamic State fighters in the country, a top army commander has announced.

Combat operations have concluded after the Iraqi forces retook control of the country’s border with Syria, the last pocket of resistance, Lt. Gen. Abdul-Amir Rasheed Yar Allah said on Saturday, adding, the country is now “totally liberated”.

“All Iraqi lands are liberated from terrorist Daesh gangs and our forces completely control the international Iraqi-Syrian borders”, he said in a statement. Daesh is an Arabic acronym for the IS.

The IS fighters had overrun nearly a third of the Iraqi territory, including Mosul, the country’s second-largest city, in 2014.

The war against the IS has lasted for over three-and-a-half years. The Iraqi forces, closely backed by the US-led coalition troops, annihilated the IS from all its strongholds in the country.

However, the group still remains capable of carrying out insurgent attacks.