Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared final victory over Islamic State on Saturday after Iraqi forces drove its last remnants from the country. The victory comes just three years after the militant group captured about a third of Iraq’s territory. The announcement follows reports that the Russian military has defeated militants in neighboring Syria. “Honourable Iraqis: your land has been completely liberated. The dream of liberation is now a reality,” Abadi said in a televised address. The government said the declaration meant Iraqi forces had secured the western desert and the entire Iraq-Syria border, and marked the end of the war against Islamic State.
