Baghdad Organizes Military Parade to Celebrate Defeat of ISIS

Tanks of Iraqi army are seen during an Iraqi military parade in Baghdad's fortified Green Zone, Iraq December 10, 2017. REUTERS/Stringer

An official source at the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Sunday that the Kingdom congratulated the people and government of Iraq for the liberation of ISIS’ last footholds in the country.
 
The source noted that the end of the war against ISIS in Iraq was a “grand victory on terrorism in the region”. It further expressed hope that security, stability, prosperity, and progress would prevail in Iraq.
 
Meanwhile, the Iraqi capital witnessed a large military parade on Sunday to celebrate the “military victory” on ISIS, which was announced by Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi a day earlier.
 
Iraqi army units marched through the main square in central Baghdad as helicopters and fighter jets flew overhead, witnesses told AFP.
 
The Iraqi premier announced on Saturday the defeat of ISIS, stressing that the achievement was made “through our unity and our determination” and declaring Sunday a public holiday.
 
Abadi welcomed the families of the armed forces’ “martyrs”, who fell during the battles against extremists.
 
Among the attendees were women dressed in black with their children, some of them carrying photographs of relatives killed in the fighting.
 
In an official speech on Saturday in front of the Iraqi defense ministry in Baghdad, the prime minister said that the next battle would be against rampant corruption in the country.
 
Despite the failure of the extremist organization to preserve its so-called “caliphate”, the US-led international coalition indicates that 3,000 of its members in Iraq and Syria have not yet disarmed.
 
According to experts, the group is still capable of shedding blood and harming Iraqis. They also expect that the organization would now resort to launching individual attacks and bloody bombings against defenseless civilians.