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BAGHDAD / Reuters
An Iraqi military parade celebrating final victory over IS was held in Bag-hdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone, an Iraqi military spokesman told Reuters on Sunday.
The country’s Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared final victory over IS after Iraqi forces drove its last remn-ants from the country, three years
after the militant group captured about a third of Iraq’s territory.
Iraqi forces recaptured the last areas still under IS control along the border with Syria and secured the western desert, Abadi said, thus marking the end of the
war against the militants.
His announc-ement comes two days after the Russian military announced the defeat of
the militants in neighbouring Syria, where Moscow is backing Syrian government forces.
Abadi declared December 10 an annual national holiday.
The parade was not being broadcast live and only state media was allowed to attend, but several squadrons of Iraqi
helicopters flew over Baghdad on Saturday carrying Iraqi flags in a rehea-rsal for the victory parade. Fighter jets were seen and heard flying over Baghdad’s skies on Sunday.