Iraqi Prime Minister declares ‘victory’ over ISIS in Mosul as US airstrike targets last remaining areas held by terror group
Death cult lose their Iraq capital where the so-called caliphate was declared in its biggest ever defeat
THE IRAQI Prime Minister arrived into Mosul today to declare “victory” over ISIS – in the city where the death cult declared its so-called Caliphate.
The collapse of the group’s terror HQ in Iraq comes after waves of airstrikes and fierce hand-to-hand fighting amid the ancient city’s blasted buildings.
Iraq’s government declared victory in the “liberated” city this afternoon, his office said, in the biggest defeat yet over ISIS.
Retreating jihadis were seen jumping into the River Tigris as their defensive line completely collapsed under fire from soldiers on the ground and bombs from the air dropped by Western backed coalition air forces.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abad “arrived in the liberated city of Mosul and congratulates the heroic fighters and the Iraqi people on the achievement of the major victory,” his office said in a statement.
The announcement comes after a gruelling nearly nine-month battle to retake the northern city from the jihadists after three years under their rule.
A photo on Abadi’s official Twitter account showed him dressed in a black military uniform and cap as he arrived in Mosul to announce the recapture of the city.
The fighting did not seem to be completely over yet, with gunfire still audible in Mosul and airstrikes hitting the city around the time the premier’s office released the statement.
The declared victory in Mosul marks an epic milestone for the Iraqi security forces, who had crumbled in the face of an IS onslaught across Iraq in 2014.
ISIS swept across much of Iraq’s Sunni Arab heartland in a lightning offensive that year, proclaiming a self-styled “caliphate” straddling Iraq and neighbouring Syria.
But the jihadist group, which is facing twin offensives backed by a US-led coalition in both countries, has since lost large parts of the territory it once controlled.
The Iraqi forces launched their campaign to recapture Mosul in October, seizing its eastern side in January and launching the battle for its western part the next month.
But the fight grew tougher when Iraqi forces entered the densely populated Old City on the western bank of the Tigris River that divides the city.
A military spokesman yesterday confirmed the insurgents’ defence lines were collapsing.
But Iraqi commanders say the insurgents are fighting for each metre with snipers, grenades and suicide bombers.
Advancing security forces are being forced to fight house-to-house in the densely populated maze of narrow alleyways.
A US-led international coalition is providing air and ground support to the eight-month-old offensive to wrest back Mosul, once the de facto ISIS capital in Iraq.
Mosul was by far the largest city seized by so-called Islamic State in its offensive three years ago.
It was her the ultra-hardline religious fanatics declared its “caliphate” over adjoining parts of Iraq and Syria.
Stripped of Mosul, Islamic State’s dominion in Iraq will be reduced to mainly rural, desert areas west and south of the city where tens of thousands of people live.
The militants are expected to keep up attacks on selected targets across Iraq.
As reported, female ISIS fanatics are using kids as human shields as the extremist group fight to the end.
The doomed death cult has been taking civilians as hostages during the eight month battle to expel them in an evil bid to slow down advancing Iraqi troops.
Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared the end of Islamic State’s “state of falsehood” a week ago.
This came after security forces took Mosul’s mediaeval Grand al-Nuri mosque – although only after retreating militants blew it up.
The United Nations predicts it will cost more than $1 billion to repair basic infrastructure in Mosul.
Iraq’s regional Kurdish leader said on Thursday in a Reuters interview that the Baghdad central government had failed to prepare a post-battle political, security and governance plan.
The offensive has damaged thousands of structures in Mosul’s Old City and destroyed nearly 500 buildings, satellite imagery released by the United Nations on Thursday showed.
In some of the worst affected areas, almost no buildings appear to have escaped damage.
Mosul’s dense construction means the extent of the devastation might be underestimated, UN officials said.
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