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WORLD NEWS Tuesday 11 July 2017

Iraqi declares ‘total victory’ over Islamic State in Mosul

grenades to ferry to the lighted the resilience of the
front. Iraqi troops had slowly extremists and the contin-
pushed through the narrow ued reliance of Iraqi forces
alleys of the Old City during on air support to retake ter-
the past week, punching ritory.
holes through walls and de- Iraqi commanders said
molishing houses to carve gains slowed to a crawl in
supply routes and fighting recent days as IS fighters
positions in a district where used their families — includ-
many of the buildings date ing women and children —
back centuries.For days, as human shields. As the
the remaining few hundred battle space constricted,
militants held an area mea- the coalition began ap-
suring less than a square proving airstrikes dropping
kilometer (less than half bombs of 200 pounds or
a square mile), and Iraqi more on IS targets within
commanders described 50 meters (yards) of friendly
victory as imminent. forces.
Al-Abadi also visited Mosul Plumes of smoke Monday
on Sunday, congratulating grew larger than the strip of
the troops on recent gains territory under IS control.
but stopping short of de- “This used to be a beautiful
claring an outright victory city, tourists used to come
Iraqis celebrate while holding national flags in Tahrir square in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, July 10,
2017. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared victory against the Islamic State group in Mo- as clashes continued. here,” said Iraqi army Capt.
sul Monday evening, after nearly nine months of largely grueling urban combat. The drawn-out endgame in Marwan Hadi based inside
(AP Photo/Karim Kadim) Iraq’s fight for Mosul high- the Old City. q
By SUSANNAH GEORGE backed by airstrikes from
Associated Press the U.S.-led coalition,
MOSUL, Iraq (AP) — Iraq brought an end to the ex-
on Monday declared “to- tremists’ so-called territo-
tal victory” over the Islamic rial caliphate, but has also
State group in Mosul, re- left thousands dead, entire
taking full control of the neighborhoods in ruins and
country’s second-largest nearly 900,000 displaced
city three years after it was from their homes.
seized by extremists bent Shortly after al-Abadi’s
on building a global caliph- speech, the coalition con-
ate. gratulated him on the vic-
“This great feast day tory but noted that parts of
crowned the victories of the Old City still “must be
the fighters and the Iraqis back-cleared of explosive
for the past three years,” devices and possible ISIS
said Prime Minister Haider fighters in hiding.” ISIS, ISIL
al-Abadi, flanked by his se- and Daesh are alternative
nior military leadership at a acronyms for the Islamic
small base on the edge of State group.
the Old City, where the fi- “The victory in Mosul, a
nal battles for Mosul unfold- city where ISIS once pro-
ed. Al-Abadi alluded to the claimed its so-called ‘ca-
brutality of the battle for liphate,’ signals that its days
Mosul — Iraq’s longest yet in Iraq and Syria are num-
in the fight against IS — say- bered,” President Donald
ing the triumph had been Trump said in a statement.
achieved “by the blood of Earlier in the day, airstrikes
our martyrs.” pounded the last IS-held
While Mosul fell to IS in a territory on the western
matter of days in 2014, edge of the Tigris, Humvees
the campaign to retake rushed wounded to field
the city lasted nearly nine hospitals and soldiers hur-
months. The fight, closely riedly filled bags with hand