Iraqi Prime Minister declares defeat of IS terrorists

Iraqi troops have taken control of Rawa, the last town under IS control, marking the collapse of the self-proclaimed “caliphate”.

On November 21, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced that the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) terrorist group had been defeated.

However, a final declaration of victory will only be made after IS militants are thoroughly hunted down in Iraq's deserts and border areas.

Iraqi forces in an operation to sweep IS in Rawa on October 28. Photo: AFP/TTXVN

Iraqi forces took control of Rawa, the last town under IS control, over the weekend, marking the collapse of the self-proclaimed “caliphate” since IS overran northern and western Iraq in 2014. The Iraqi military is continuing security operations in desert and border areas.

Before the announcement of the Iraqi Prime Minister, the President of neighboring Iran, Hassan Rouhani, also declared an end to IS.

Iranian military officials also honored soldiers who died while participating in anti-IS terrorist campaigns in Iraq and Syria.

On the Syrian battlefield, having lost the stronghold of al-Bukamal, IS has been driven out of all its strongholds in Syria and is only hiding in some places in the northeast and south of Syria./.

According to VOV