Liberation of city of Mosul hailed as huge blow against Islamic State
Defeat in key bastion diminishes jihadist group which has now lost much of the territory it captured in northwestern Iraq
Beirut — Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi arrived in Mosul to declare it liberated from Islamic State (IS), 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" after the last pockets under IS control were retaken, according to a tweet from his media office. The campaign to free Mosul from IS 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 US-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 the 34 years of his service. Retaking Mosul marks a major blow against IS, 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 di...
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