Iraq says war against ISIS is over

Iraq announced Saturday that the country’s war against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is over after more than three years of fighting.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said the country’s forces were in full control of Iraq’s border with Syria, according to The Associated Press, while a spokesman said it marked the end of the military fight.

“All Iraqi lands are liberated from terrorist Daesh gangs and our forces completely control the international Iraqi-Syrian border,” a top Iraqi general said after al-Abadi’s remarks, using the Arabic acronym for ISIS, the AP reported.

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President Trump’s special envoy to the U.S.-led coalition forces celebrated the announcement in a statement on Twitter, congratulating Iraq’s government on the military achievement.

“PM Abadi announces that today, for the first time in four long years, #ISIS controls no significant territory in #Iraq. We congratulate the Prime Minister and all the Iraqi people on this significant achievement, which many thought impossible,” Brett McGurk wrote on Twitter.

“We honor the sacrifices of the Iraqi people, its security forces, and the Kurdish Peshmerga, and admire the unity in their ranks that had made this day possible. That spirit must be renewed and continue as Iraq works to consolidate these historic gains over the coming year,” he added.

PM Abadi announces that today, for the first time in four long years, #ISIS controls no significant territory in #Iraq. We congratulate the Prime Minister and all the Iraqi people on this significant achievement, which many thought impossible. 1/3

— Brett McGurk (@brett_mcgurk) December 9, 2017

In July, the country celebrated its largest victory yet against the armed militants when U.S.-backed Iraqi forces liberated the city of Mosul, which was the largest ISIS stronghold active in Iraq.

“We congratulate Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, the Iraqi Security Forces, and all Iraqis for their victory over terrorists who are the enemies of all civilized people,” Trump said in a statement earlier this year.

“We mourn the thousands of Iraqis brutally killed by ISIS and the millions of Iraqis who suffered at the hands of ISIS. We grieve with the Iraqi people for the loss of the heroic soldiers and Peshmerga who gave their lives to restore life to their country, and we honor their sacrifice.”