By Ibrahim Salih
BAGHDAD (AA): Iraqi forces have regained full control of the country’s border with Syria, Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi said Saturday.
“Our forces are in complete control of the Iraqi-Syrian border,” al-Abadi said in a televised speech in the capital Baghdad.
He said the Iraqi victory over the Daesh terrorist group has been realized with unity among Iraqis.
Iraqi forces have managed to recapture all territories overran by Daesh in northern and western Iraq in 2014.
“Our dream of liberation is now a reality and we have claimed victory against Daesh,” al-Abadi said. “The Iraqi flag flies high today over all Iraqi lands.”
“Preserve your union and begin a bright new future”, he added.
Al-Abadi said that anti-corruption drive will be an extension of rescue operations — the next step Iraq will take.
UK Prime Minister, Theresa May congratulated Al-Abadi “on this historic moment. I pay tribute to the Iraqi Security Forces for their courage and sacrifice.”
She added that Daesh “no longer hold significant territory in Iraq or Syria. This signals a new chapter towards a more peaceful, prosperous country,” and said that the UK was involved in this victory as it “has stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Iraq to help them open that chapter.”
However, May warned that whilst Daesh is failing, “they are not yet defeated. They still pose a threat to Iraq, including from over the Syrian border.”
Meanwhile, U.S. State Department in a statement congratulated Iraq, saying the announcement signals that the last remnants Daesh in Iraq have been erased and the people living in those areas have been freed from the terrorist group’s brutal control
“The United States joins the government of Iraq in stressing that Iraq’s liberation does not mean the fight against terrorism, and even against ISIS [Daesh], in Iraq is over,” Heather Nauert, a U.S. State Department’s spokeswoman, said.
Additional report by The Muslim News
[Photo: Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi delivers his speech on victory against Daesh terrorist organisation in Baghdad, Iraq on December 9, 2017. Photographer: Haydar Hadi/AA]