Iraq marks anniversary of Victory Day over IS

BAGHDAD -- Iraqis celebrated the Victory Day on Monday, one year after the announcement of full liberation of all Iraqi land from Islamic State (IS) militants.

As a new national holiday added by the government, the Victory Day saw streets in Baghdad and other Iraqi cities decorated with Iraqi flags and colored balloons, and loud speakers on the patrolling police vehicles singing patriotic songs.

At midday, Iraqis observed a minute of silence for those killed during three years of fierce battles against the IS, while fireworks were scheduled to be set off in the evening.

During his address to Iraqi forces at the Defense Ministry building, Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi said it was a "proud day for all of us when our brave country defeated the enemies of life, dignity, freedom and peace."

"The ultimate victory... is to achieve stability and well-being for our people, to achieve justice, to respect law, to limit the arms at the hands of the state," Mahdi noted.

Meanwhile, Iraqi President Barham Salih called for "strengthening the victory by ending incubators of extremism through economic regeneration, political reforms and combating corruption."

The celebration came as Iraqis are waiting for Mahdi to complete the formation of his cabinet, as the prime minister has only appointed 14 ministers out of 22 because of political wrangling among Iraqi factions.

In June 2014, the IS took control of large swathes of territories in western and northern Iraq, or 40 percent of the country's land at its peak.

However, the Iraqi forces, backed by tens of thousands of Shiite and Sunni volunteers, known as Hashd Shaabi paramilitary units, as well as the US-led air support, managed to dislodge IS militants from their strongholds across the country.

On Dec 9 of 2017, former Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced full liberation of Iraqi land from IS militants after Iraqi forces re-captured all areas once seized by the extremist group.