‘Victory’ over ISIS in Iraq
World leaders congratulated Iraq Sunday following the prime minister’s declaration of victory over ISIS.
Saudi Arabia hailed the achievement as a blow against terrorism in the region, and the United Kingdom applauded Iraq’s security forces “for their courage and sacrifice.”
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared victory in the more-than-three-year fight against ISIS in a national address aired on Iraqi state television Saturday evening.
Sunday was an official holiday in Iraq. A military parade attended by alAbadi was held inside Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone — a district that houses most of Iraq’s government buildings and foreign embassies. In the evening, the capital’s skies filled with fireworks.
“Daesh [ISIS] no longer hold significant territory in Iraq or Syria,” United Kingdom Prime Minister Theresa May said in a statement. “This signals a new chapter towards a more peaceful, prosperous country.”
In Saudi Arabia’s statement Sunday, the kingdom reiterated Saudi support for Iraq.
Several thousand Saudis are believed to have joined the ranks of Sunni extremist groups to fight in Iraq and Syria. However, the kingdom has also been a target of multiple attacks claimed by ISIS.
The top US-led coalition commander US Lt. Gen. Paul E. Funk II pledged that coalition forces would continue to support Iraq after the conventional military fight against ISIS is concluded.
“Much work remains, and we will continue to work by, with and through our Iraqi partners to ensure the enduring defeat of Daesh,” Funk said in a statement Sunday.
Iraqi forces retook the last ISIS strongholds in Iraq earlier Saturday and secured the country’s border with Syria.
ISIS fighters overran nearly a third of Iraqi territory in 2014.
Over the past 3½ years, Iraqi ground forces backed by the US-led coalition and mostly Shiite paramilitary forces backed by Iran have slowly retaken that territory.