Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi has declared victory over the extremist group Islamic State (IS) in the northern town of Tal Afar and the entire province of Nineveh.
Abadi said on August 31 that Iraqi troops supported by counterterrorism units and Shi’ite militia "fully liberated" the district of Al-Ayadia, where IS fighters had fled to from Tal Afar last week.
With Tal Afar liberated, Abadi said, all of Nineveh Province is now under the control of Iraq’s security forces.
"The victory has been completed as all of Nineveh Province is now controlled by our heroic forces," he said.
Iraqi forces launched an offensive to retake Tal Afar on August 20, after having driven the IS group from the city of Mosul -- some 60 kilometers east of Tal Afar -- following a nine-month campaign.
IS militants still control the northern town of Hawija in Kirkuk Province and areas in the western province of Anbar near Syria.