BAGHDAD - Iraq's armed forces held a military parade in Baghdad on Sunday to celebrate the victory announced by Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi over the Islamic State group.
Abadi on Saturday declared victory in Iraq's three-year war to expel the jihadist group that at its height endangered the country's very existence. Iraqi army units marched through the main square in Baghdad as helicopters and fighter jets flew overhead, witnesses said. The parade was not broadcast live and only state media were allowed to attend. Abadi had declared Sunday a public holiday after making his announcement, in which he said Iraq had defeated the jihadists "through our unity and our determination". Iraqis took to the streets to celebrate, including in second city Mosul and the capital Baghdad, singing patriotic songs, waving the national flag and shouting "Iraq, Iraq!" The Sunni extremists of IS seized control of large parts of Iraq and neighbouring Syria in 2014.
Backed by a US-led coalition, Iraqi forces gradually retook control of all territory lost to the jihadists over the past three years. The head of the coalition on Sunday congratulated the Baghdad government for defeating IS, but warned that more work needed to be done to ensure the jihadists do not strike again.
"Much work remains, and we will continue to work by, with and through our Iraqi partners to ensure the enduring defeat of Daesh (IS) and prevent its ability to threaten civilisation, regionally and globally," Lieutenant General Paul E. Funk II said in a statement.