Islamic State’s defeat is “inevitable: PM Abadi says during Mosul visit
Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi during a tour with security troops in western Mosul to check on progress in battles against Islamic State.
“Iraqis will get out of this battle with their heads up high,” he was quoted by Iraqi media reports as saying during a tour that included the Mosul Airport, a major Islamic State bastion recaptured by the government forces last month.
Abadi is scheduled to head to Kurdistan Region after his Mosul visit, according to reports.
Abadi’s visit to Mosul comes shortly after the Joint Operations Command said Tuesday its forces recaptured a major government complex as well as the Turkish consulate building in western Mosul from IS militants. The complex contains a courthouse, a main branch of the central bank and a police department besides other government agencies. Iraqi generals its recapture will put the battle’s outcome in their favor.
Iraqi troops took over eastern Mosul in January and launched a new offensive to take the western region in February. Iraqi security officials and others from the allied U.S.-led coalition predicted the city to be fully liberated within six months from the start of the campaign.