Iraq in full control of border with Syria: PM

By Ibrahim Salih

BAGHDAD

Iraqi forces have regained full control of the country’s border with Syria, Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi said Saturday.

"Our forces are in complete control of the Iraqi-Syrian border,” al-Abadi said in a televised speech in the capital Baghdad.

He said the Iraqi victory over the Daesh terrorist group has been realized with unity among Iraqis.

Iraqi forces have managed to recapture all territories overran by Daesh in northern and western Iraq in 2014.

“Our dream of liberation is now a reality and we have claimed victory against Daesh,” al-Abadi said. “The Iraqi flag flies high today over all Iraqi lands.”

“Preserve your union and begin a bright new future”, he added.

Al-Abadi said that anti-corruption drive will be an extension of rescue operations -- the next step Iraq will take.

Meanwhile, U.S. State Department in a statement congratulated Iraq, saying the announcement signals that the last remnants Daesh in Iraq have been erased and the people living in those areas have been freed from the terrorist group’s brutal control

“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 [Daesh], in Iraq is over,” Heather Nauert, a U.S. State Department’s spokeswoman, said.