Iraqi PM declares ‘end of war against Daesh’ in Iraq

“Our forces are in complete control of the Iraqi-Syrian border and I therefore announce the end of the war against Daesh,” Abadi told a conference in Baghdad, according to AFP.

“Our enemy wanted to kill our civilization, but we have won through our unity and our determination. We have triumphed in little time,” he said.

Daesh seized vast areas north and west of Baghdad in a lightning offensive in 2014, endangering the very existence of the Iraqi state.

Iraq’s fightback was launched with army and volunteer forces in action, recapturing town after town from the clutches of the terrorists.

“I announce the good news: The liberation by Iraqi forces of the whole of the Iraqi-Syrian border,” the prime minister told the conference organized by the Iraqi journalists’ union.

In a separate tweet later, Abadi said: “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.”

A senior military commander confirmed that combat operations had been completed.

“All Iraqi lands are liberated from terrorist Daesh gangs and our forces completely control the international Iraqi-Syrian border,” Lt. Gen. Abdul-Amir Rasheed Yar Allah said in a statement released shortly after Abadi’s remarks. 

Last month Iraqi forces captured Rawa, the last remaining town under Daesh control, near the Syrian border.

Mosul, the group’s de facto capital in Iraq, fell in July after a grueling nine-month campaign that saw much of the northern Iraqi city destroyed.

Iraq now faces the daunting challenge of reconstruction. The fighting caused massive devastation in many areas, and some three million Iraqis are still displaced.