Iraq suffers $47B damages in Daesh-liberated areas

By Arif Yusuf and Hacer Baser

BAGHDAD, Iraq

The Iraqi government has suffered damages worth $47 billion in areas liberated from Daesh, the country's planning minister said on Sunday.

Salman al-Jumaili during a meeting with Swiss Ambassador to Jordan and Iraq Hans Peter Linz said the ministry had prepared a 10-year reconstruction plan.

Jumaili added that a separate report will be prepared to identify damages the private sector had suffered.

In May, the Iraqi government reported that the country needed $100 billion to rebuild Daesh liberated regions.

On Nov. 17, Interior Minister Qasim al-Araji announced that Daesh presence in Iraq had effectively come to an end following the liberation of the city of Rawa in the western Anbar province.

The Daesh terrorist group has recently suffered a string of crushing defeats in both Iraq and Syria after overrunning vast territories in both countries in 2014.