Mission completed; Mosul fully liberated

The Iraqi forces recaptured the last ISIS-held area in Mosul's Old City district on Saturday, announcing the complete liberation of the city. Lieutenant Colonel Thaer al-Kinani, a commander in the Iraqi elite Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS), congratulated the people of Iraq for the fall of ISIS in Mosul.

Kinani further added that there were heavy clashes between the CTS units and the ISIS insurgents in the areas, stating that the Iraqi forces have now reached the Tigris River.

The operation for liberating the northern Iraqi city of Mosul was launched on the 17th of October, 2016. During the eight months of fighting, the Iraqi forces were by the government-backed paramilitary Hashd al-Sha'bi and the Kurdish Peshmerga Forces.