U.S. congratulates Iraq on end of war against IS
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Suspected Islamic State members sit inside a small room in a prison south of Mosul. Iraq said today that its war on the Islamic State is over after more than three years of combat operations drove the extremists from all of the territory they once held.
BAGHDAD >> The United States is congratulating Iraq following the prime minister’s announcement that the war against the Islamic State is over.
State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert says the U.S. offers “sincere congratulations to the Iraqi people and to the brave Iraqi Security Forces, many of whom lost their lives heroically fighting ISIS,” in an official statement released today.
The statement adds “the United States joins the Government of Iraq in stressing that Iraq’s liberation does not mean the fight against terrorism, and even against ISIS, in Iraq is over.”
ISIS is an alternative acronym for IS.
Iraqi and coalition officials have stressed that despite the declaration of military victories against the extremists, Iraq continues to be faced with significant security threats.
The Islamic State group has repeatedly returned to their insurgent roots following territorial defeats, targeting Iraqi civilians and infrastructure far from frontline fighting.
