2017 will be remembered as the year the Islamic State group's ultra-violent statehood experiment was terminated, but Iraq and Syria are now left staring at ruined cities and daunting challenges.
The jihadist group lost its two main hubs, Mosul in Iraq and Raqa in Syria, earlier this year and is now only clinging to the dregs of a "caliphate" thatRead more
An influential Iraqi Shiite cleric is urging his fighters to hand state-issued weapons back to the government following the declaration of victory against Daesh.
Muqtada Al-Sadr also called on his forces to hand some of the territory they control to other branches of Iraq’s security forces, but said his men would remain as protectors of a holy Shiite shrine inRead more
Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced Saturday "the end of the war" in Iraq against the Islamic State group and that his forces had regained full control of the border with Syria.
"Our forces are in complete control of the Iraqi-Syrian border and I therefore announce the end of the war against Daesh (IS)," Abadi told a conference in Baghdad.Read more