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Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Sunday said the victory in
the battles against the Islamic State (IS) militants in Mosul is
guaranteed and it is a matter of time to defeat the extremist militants
and "declare great victory" in the city.
A statement by Abadi's office said "the victory is guaranteed" and
the remnants of IS group are "besieged in the last inches," and it is a
matter of time to declare to our people the great victory.
"We have come today (in Mosul) to be in the battleground and
supervise the battle," said Abadi, adding that it is only a pocket or
two left under control of IS remnants, who have "no escape except death
or surrender themselves, and hence the battle is settled and the great
victory is in the hand," Abadi said.
During the past 24 hours, the security forces killed a large number
of IS militants and the troops are fighting to free the civilians
trapped as human shields in some 50 to 100 houses in the IS-held
pockets, according to the statement.
In the afternoon, Abadi, who is also the Commander-in-Chief of Iraqi
forces, paid a visit to Mosul and held meetings with the military
commanders before he made a tour in the eastern side of Mosul, where
hundreds of people welcomed his presence.
Abadi also hailed the high spirit of Iraqi forces and praised the
cooperation of the people of Mosul and their celebration in the victory
on the extremist militants, according to the statement.
During the visit, the Iraqiya channel and the official websites of
Abadi's office said that Abadi was expected to declare victory in Mosul,
despite the heavy clashes in the remaining pockets in the Old City of
Mosul's western side.
The official Iraqiya channel aired live broadcast showing the people
in many Iraqi cities, including the Iraqi capital Baghdad, started
celebrations as hundreds of people gathered in main streets and squares
raising the Iraqi flags and dancing.
Earlier in the day, the commandos of the Counter-Terrorism Service
(CTS) liberated al-Maidan area in the heavily-populated Old City center
and reached the bank of the Tigris River.
The CTS and the army's 9th Armored Division are still fighting heavy
house-to-house clashes against IS militants into the narrow alleys in
the last two pockets in the neighborhoods of al-Qlei'at and al-Shahwan
in the Old City.
The fighting in the Old City is becoming heavier as Iraqi forces push
the extremist IS militants into the strip of land along the bank of the
Tigris River.
The desperate militants have been increasingly resorting to suicide
attacks and showing stiff resistance that slowed the troops' progress in
recent days.
Mosul, 400 km north of Iraq's capital Baghdad, came under IS control
since June 2014, when government forces abandoned their weapons and
fled, enabling IS militants to take control of parts of Iraq's northern
and western regions.
