Iraqi Army Concludes ‘Will of Victory’ Operation against ISIS

The Iraqi Army has concluded the operation dubbed as the ‘Will of Victory’, which was launched starting this week by Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi against ISIS in three provinces.

This operation coincided with the 3rd anniversary of liberating Mosul on July 10 in 2017, which represented the key to military elimination of the group at the end of this year.

In this context, Iraq's National Wisdom Movement Leader Ammar al-Hakim has called for putting a comprehensive political, security and community strategy to maintain the victory.

In a statement issued Thursday, Hakim stressed that this historic achievement should be retained via setting a comprehensive strategy, especially in the liberated regions. He called on the Iraqi government and the parliament to exploit this occasion to reconstruct liberated cities and march towards development.

The Joint Operations Command announced Thursday that the first phase of the ‘Will of Victory’ has been completed. Deputy of Army Chief of Staff for Operations Abdul Amir Rasheed Yarallah revealed in a statement that the military sectors participating in the operation managed to achieve the determined goals.

During a press conference on Thursday, Member of Iraq's parliamentary Security and Defense Committee Nayef al-Shammari said that the committee held a meeting with the Iraqi PM.

The meeting tackled the operation as well as the necessity of reinforcing it.

While Mahdi promised to follow up the situation, Shammari highlighted the necessity of monitoring the Iraqi-Syrian border, especially that some ISIS members fled the battle to the Syrian side.

Further, security expert Fadel Abu Raghef told Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper that the operation notably witnessed the participation of three commands. This operation wouldn’t have been yielding if it hadn't been exceptional because ISIS lives in an amebic manner – every time you divide it, the division comes back to life on its own.