President Trump spoke Tuesday with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to congratulate him on the liberation of Mosul from the Islamic State, the White House said.
“The president praised the heroism of the Iraqi and American soldiers and underscored his commitment to the total defeat of ISIS,” the White House said in a statement. “He stressed the need to consolidate gains to prevent ISIS or any other terrorist group from returning to liberated areas.”
Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, announced Monday that Iraqi Security Forces had Mosul “firmly under their control” and congratulated Iraqi and Kurdish forces on a “hard-fought victory.”
Thousands of people have died in Mosul and millions more have been displaced since ISIS declared the city, Iraq’s second-largest, its “caliphate” three years ago.
It took nine months for Iraqi Security Forces to wrest control of Mosul from ISIS, which still controls other small cities and towns in Iraq.
U.S.-backed forces began working last week to take back control of Raqqa, Syria, the city ISIS claims as its second capital.
