Iraq Declares Victory Over ISIS

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has declared victory against ISIS after three years of war. 

In an announcement in Baghdad on Saturday, the prime minister said Iraqi forces were in complete control of the Iraqi-Syrian border. 

“Our enemy wanted to kill our civilization, but we have won through our unity and our determination,” Abadi said according to the BBC. 

“We have triumphed in little time.” 

In January 2014, Iraq lost control of Fallujah and Ramadi to the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). In June, the liberation of Mosul marked a turning point in Iraq’s war against ISIS. 

U.S. State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert released a statement after the announcement, offering “congratulations to the Iraqi people and to the brave Iraqi Security Forces, many of whom lost their lives heroically fighting ISIS.” 

Nauert added that the prime minister’s announcement “does not mean the fight against terrorism, and even against ISIS, in Iraq is over.” 

“The United States, along with the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, will continue to partner with the Iraqi Security Forces, advising, training, and equipping them,” she said in the statement. 

“Together, we must be vigilant in countering all extremist ideologies to prevent the return of ISIS or the emergence of threats by other terrorist groups.”

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