The battle has left large parts of Mosul in ruins, killed thousands of civilians and displaced nearly one million people. "The commander in chief of the armed forces (Prime Minister) Haider al-Abadi arrived in the liberated city of Mosul and congratulated the heroic fighters and Iraqi people for the great victory," his office said in a statement. The decaying corpses of militants lay in the narrow streets of the Old City where Islamic State has staged a last stand against Iraqi forces backed by a US-led coalition. The Department of Defense has requested $1.269 billion in US budget funds for 2018 to continue supporting Iraqi forces. Abadi declared the end of Islamic State's "state of falsehood" a week ago, after security forces retook the mosque - although only after retreating militants blew it up.

Source: bd News24 July 09, 2017 12:45 UTC