(VOVworld) – Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi says IS will be rooted out from Iraq next year. Al-Abadi said in a speech broadcast on state television Monday that Iraq will use newly reclaimed Ramadi as a springboard to take IS’s stronghold of Mosul and deliver a "fatal blow" to the terror group. He said “2016 will be the year of the big and final victory, when IS’s presence in Iraq will be terminated.”

Iraqi security forces fly the national flag after they recaptured Ramadi (photo: AFP)

The recapture – the latest in a string of IS setbacks in both Iraq and Syria – was hailed as a significant victory by Britain, France, and the US. US State Secretary John Kerry said the government of Iraq and the brave Iraqi forces are displaying tremendous perseverance and courage in fighting IS.
French President Francoise Hollande congratulated Prime Minister al-Abadi for the liberation of Ramadi, calling it the most important victory since the beginning of the fight against IS and a major step in Iraq reconstruction.