Iraqi PM says measures taken to protect borders with Syria from Islamic State
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi addresses the media in Ankara December 25, 2014. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY – Tags: POLITICS) – RTR4J8X5
During his speech in his weekly conference, Abadi said, “security services achieved great progress to eliminate the remnants of Islamic State members.”
“We took several measures to protect our borders with Syria from the remnants of IS,” Abadi said, adding that “Daesh (IS) will never penetrate into Iraq again.”
The Iraqi-Syrian borders are under the control of joint troops of military and border guards.
Islamic State continues to launch sporadic attacks across Iraq against troops. Security reports indicate that the militant group still poses threat against stability in the country.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi announced, in December, full liberation of Iraqi lands, declaring end of war against IS members.
Thousands of IS militants as well as Iraqi civilians were killed since the government campaign, backed by paramilitary troops and the coalition was launched in October 2016 to fight the militant group, which declared a self-styled “caliphate” from Mosul in June 2014.
As many as 3,298 civilians were killed and 4,781 others were wounded in 2017, excluding Anbar civilian casualty figures for November and December, which are not available, UNAMI said in a report in December.
The war against IS has so far displaced at least five million people