Iraqi Government Declares Mosul Liberated From Islamic State

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi traveled to Mosul to declare it liberated from Islamic State, three years after the city’s abrupt fall to the jihadists alerted the world to the group’s growing strength, territorial ambitions and barbarity.

Abadi congratulated the Iraqi people and fighters on a “great victory” as the last pockets under Islamic State control were being retaken, according to a tweet from his media office.

The campaign to free Mosul from Islamic State entered its final phase in the narrow streets of the Old City in mid-June, eight months after thousands of Iraqi troops and Kurdish fighters backed by U.S.-led airstrikes began their offensive. Lieutenant General Stephen Townsend, commander of the coalition, has described it as the toughest urban warfare he has seen in 34 years of service.

Retaking Mosul marks a major blow against Islamic State, whose leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi made his first speech as self-proclaimed caliph from one of the city’s mosques in 2014. The group is now diminished, having lost much of its territory spanning northeastern Syria and northwestern Iraq. Its ability to attract foreign fighters is also dented, although it continues to inspire militants abroad who have staged terrorist attacks from London to Tehran. For Abadi, whose government has struggled to overcome political and sectarian challenges and rebuild an economy stripped of oil revenue, it’s a major success.

There have been scenes of jubilation as Iraqi forces have slowly taken back control of Mosul, removing the black banners of the jihadist group. The United Nations says as many as 150,000 residents were trapped in the Old City when the battle there began, with illness and disease spreading as clean drinking water, food and medicine ran low. Islamic State used those who stayed as human shields, according to the UN. Over the last few months, it has massacred hundreds who attempted to flee the city in an attempt to deter others from doing the same.
More at link.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-07-09/mosul-liberated-as-islamic-state-faces-total-defeat-in-iraq

Thanks, LL, at least that's one bit of good news. I don't envy the Iraqi authorities, rebuilding not just the city, but society, too.

Maybe Blair and Bush should help, at least financially?

The strategic city has been under the control of the terror group for the past three years

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4679292/Airsrtike-final-ISIS-position-Mosul.html#ixzz4mNI0ROrU
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Absolutely appalling destruction to be seen in those photos. It looks far worse than eastern Aleppo - there, the western side of the city was still functioning and more or less in one piece.

Those poor, poor civilians, trapped in that horror!