Iraq claims victory, but issues warning

THE IRAQI government declared victory Saturday in its war with the Islamic State terror group after a bloody three-year campaign.

Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi made the announcement in a TV address to the nation after Iraqi forces vanquished the last ISIS holdouts along the Syrian border.

“Honorable Iraqis, your land has been completely liberated,” al-Abadi said.

“The liberation dream has become a reality. We achieved victory in difficult circumstances and with God’s help, the steadfastness of our people and the bravery of our heroic forces, we prevailed.”

The celebratory atmosphere marked a far cry from the feelings in Baghdad in the summer of 2014 when ISIS fighters gobbled up vast stretches of the country with lightning speed.

The ensuing war displaced roughly 3 million Iraqis and dismantled municipal services in several areas of the country.

Iraqi ground forces retook the ISIS-controlled sections of the country with the backing of the U.S.-led coalition and mostly Shiite paramilitary forces supported by Iran.

“We have accomplished a very difficult mission,” al-Abadi said.

“Our heroes have reached the final strongholds of ISIS and purified it. The Iraqi flag flies high today over all Iraqi lands.”

But while ISIS’ footprint no longer remains, several thousand fighters are still believed to be living in the country, hidden in plain sight in the lawless desert regions.

In addition to lingering security concerns, Iraqi officials are faced with the monumental task of rebuilding the bombed-out city of Mosul and others, as well as easing the long-standing tensions between the nation’s Sunni and Shiite populations.

American officials were eager to cheer the announcement despite the challenges ahead.

The U.S. offers “sincere congratulations to the Iraqi people and to the brave Iraqi Security Forces, many of whom lost their lives heroically fighting ISIS,” State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a written statement.

Brett McGurk, the U.S. special presidential envoy to the coalition, also offered praise.

“We congratulate the prime minister and all the Iraqi people on this significant achievement, which many thought impossible,” McGurk said in a tweet.

Al-Abadi’s declaration came exactly a month after the Syrian army announced that it had driven ISIS out of its last stronghold.