The Iraqi military says it has “fully liberated” the territories that had been under the control of “ISIS terrorist gangs.”
“Our heroic armed forces have now secured the entire length of the Iraq-Syria border,” Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi said on his Twitter account. “We defeated Daesh (ISIS) through our unity and sacrifice for the nation. Long live Iraq and its people.”
ISIS had taken control of many large territories in Syria and Iraq. According to CNN, the group controlled more than 34,000 square miles of area from the Mediterranean coast to just south of Baghdad.
Over the past few months, Iraqi soldiers have been working to reclaim those territories. In November, the last town under ISIS control was reclaimed.
The campaign took more than three years and included about 25,000 coalition airstrikes.
“Dear Iraqis, your land has been completely liberated, and your towns and villages have been returned to the homeland,” the prime minster said in a televised speech this weekend. “The dream of liberation became a reality.”
“ISIS dream has come to an end,” he added. “We must remove all its effects and should not allow terrorism to return again.”
Experts estimate that ISIS has displaced more than 3.2 million people.
“Our people have paid a high price for its security and stability and the blood of its finest youth, men and women,” Al-Abadi said. “Millions of…
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