Mosul Unchained: Deep Breath of Freedom After Years Under Daesh Terror

Iraqis took to the streets to celebrate the liberation of Mosul after Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi officially declared victory over the Daesh militant group on July 10.

On July 9, fighters of the Iraqi Armed Forces' anti-terrorist unit raised a national flag on the banks of the Tigris River in the historical part of the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, which had been under the militants' control for three years.

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© AP Photo / Iraqi Prime Minister's Media Office /

Iraq's Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi raises the national flag on July 10 as he addresses forces from a small base on the edge of Mosul's Old City, where heavy clashes have been underway for days. Al-Abadi returned to Mosul Monday and declared victory against the Daesh in the northern city following nine months of grueling urban combat.

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© AP Photo / Felipe Dana /

Smoke billows after airstrikes hit Islamic State positions on the edge of the Old City a day after Iraq's prime minister declared total victory in Mosul, Iraq, on July 11.

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© Sputnik / NAZEK MOHAMMAD /

People celebrate after Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared victory over the militants in the de facto Iraqi capital of their self-declared caliphate in Mosul, Iraq.

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© Sputnik / NAZEK MOHAMMAD /

Mosul, Iraq's second largest city, had been controlled by militants for three years.

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© Sputnik / NAZEK MOHAMMAD /

People celebrate liberation of former Daesh key stronghold Mosul after Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared victory over the militants.

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© Sputnik / NAZEK MOHAMMAD /

The operation aimed at retaking the city from Daesh was kicked off in October 2016 by the Iraqi troops backed by the US-led international coalition.

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© Sputnik / NAZEK MOHAMMAD /

The eastern part of the city was liberated in January.

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© AFP 2023 / FADEL SENNA /

Iraqi girls walk back from school in west Mosul on July 12 after the government declared it had driven the Daesh jihadists from their one-time top stronghold.

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© Sputnik / NAZEK MOHAMMAD /

Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar Al-Abadi congratulated "the heroic fighters and the Iraqi people on the achievement of the major victory over darkness, a victory over brutality and terrorism."

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© Sputnik / NAZEK MOHAMMAD /

People celebrate after Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared victory over the militants in the de facto Iraqi capital of their self-declared caliphate in Mosul, Iraq.

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© AFP 2023 / Fadel SENNA /

Members of the Iraqi Federal Police Forces celebrate in the Old City of Mosul on July 10 after the government's announcement of the liberation of the embattled city from the Daesh group fighters.

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© Sputnik / NAZEK MOHAMMAD /

People celebrate the liberation of Daesh’s former key stronghold Mosul.