Iraqi forces capture last IS-held town, declare end of self-proclaimed caliphate

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – Iraqi troops on Friday recaptured the border town of Rawa, the last town under Islamic State (IS) control, signaling the complete defeat of the self-proclaimed caliphate in Iraq.

The liberation of the town of Rawa in Anbar marks the end of IS’ territorial hold and its caliphate declared in mid-2014 in Iraq and Syria.

Iraqi troops “freed Rawa entirely and raised the Iraqi flag over its buildings,” Lt. Gen. Abdulamir Rashid Yarallah said in a statement issued by the Joint Operation Command.

Rawa is located on the border with Syria, whose forces announced victory over the jihadist group on Nov. 9 after capturing the last strategic town in the eastern province of Deir al-Zor.

“With the liberation of Rawa, we can say all areas in which Da’esh was present have been liberated,” a military spokesman said, using the pejorative Arabic acronym for the jihadist group.

From now on, Iraqi forces will focus on routing militants fleeing into the desert and exercising control over Iraq’s borders, he said.

IS emerged in northern Iraq in the middle of 2014, overruning Mosul first and then quickly spread to other provinces, including Nineveh, Anbar, Diyala, Salahaddin, and Kirkuk.

Editing by Nadia Riva