Iraq's Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced on Sunday 9 July the regular army's victory in Mosul. The city, according to information provided by the Baghdad government, has therefore been liberated from occupation by Islamic State militants. The government stated in a communiqué that the Prime Minister himself "arrived in Mosul, congratulating the heroic fighters and the Iraqi people on this fundamental victory".

"Still 700 jihadists capable of fighting in the city"

In reality, although the majority of the city's territory has been liberated, the battle has not yet ceased. A few small pockets of Isis resistance remain. Nevertheless, according to Abadi "victory is now certain, the last jihadists are surrounded and it is only a matter of time". According to the French daily Le Monde, numerous "gunshots, aerial bombardments and violent clashes" followed one another throughout Sunday afternoon. Lieutenant Colonel Salam Jassim Hussein, for his part, explained that there are still around 700 Islamic State militants capable of fighting.

Notwithstanding this, some nations have taken up Iraq's announcement, congratulating it on the defeat of the Islamic fundamentalists who had held the city in their grip for three years. These include UK Defence Secretary Michael Fallon and French President Emmanuel Macron.

The battle of Mosul began on 17 October 2016

The Iraqi army's offensive, backed by a US-led international coalition, was launched on 17 October 2016. Last January, Baghdad's troops announced they had captured the eastern portion of the city, situated to the east of the River Tigris. In February, the offensive was then launched in the old city, a particularly complex operation due to the urban layout of the district, made up of narrow, winding alleyways.

Over the long months of bitter fighting, conditions for the civilian population grew increasingly dire. In June, Unicef had raised the alarm, speaking of "one hundred thousand children held hostage by Isis, used as human shields and in some cases forced to take part in the war". At the beginning of July, Stephanie Remion, emergency coordinator in west Mosul for Médecins Sans Frontières, had confirmed: "It is impossible to describe the atrocities we hear about from our patients. We see wounds of every kind, from gunshot and blast injuries to bone fractures caused by collapsing structures. Despite the enormous efforts of our team at the trauma stabilisation points and of the ambulance drivers, the number of patients we receive is low compared to the thousands of residents we believe are trapped in the conflict zone".

Isis still controls the cities of Tal Afar and Hawija

The recapture of Mosul represents a particularly important victory for the Iraqi government, but it does not mean the end of the war against the Islamic fundamentalists. Isis still controls several regions of the Asian state, in particular the cities of Tal Afar and Hawija, situated in the desert areas of al-Anbar province, as well as significant territories in eastern and central Syria.