Maliki salutes Iranian 'martyrs' in liberation of Mosul from ISIS

Maliki salutes Iranian 'martyrs' in liberation of Mosul from ISIS
By Rudaw 13 hours ago
Members of Iraq's federal police force wave Iraq's national flag as they celebrate in the Old City of Mosul on July 9, 2017 after recapturing the city. Photo: AFP /Fadel Senna
Members of Iraq's federal police force wave Iraq's national flag as they celebrate in the Old City of Mosul on July 9, 2017 after recapturing the city. Photo: AFP /Fadel Senna
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki thanked Iran for its "martyrs" to liberate Mosul from ISIS militants and praised the Islamic Republic for its arms, supplies and advice to the Iraqi armed forces during the nine-month long offensive.

"We thank all those who ... stood with Iraq in the face of the most severe terrorist attack," Shiite strongman Maliki said in a Facebook post on Tuesday, "first and foremost the Islamic Republic of Iran."
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The current vice president also praised Iran for supplying advice and arms to Iraqi forces.

He also sent his "salute to their martyrs" who mixed their "blood with the blood of their Iraqi brothers."

Maliki, who stills wields immense power through the Dawa Party and State of Law Coalition, also thanked the US-led global anti-ISIS coalition forces who "supported our military effort."

He urged that the war against terror must be "a global war."

Surrounded by Iraqi and Kurdish Peshmerga military commanders on Monday evening, Abadi declared “the end, the collapse, and the failure of the false terror state of ISIS.”

ISIS militants controlled Mosul from June 10, 2014, until July 10, 2017.

ISIS militants were at the gates of Baghdad in the summer of 2014 and controlled Iraq’s second-largest city of Mosul.

Iraq’s highest Shiite cleric Ayatollah Ali Sistani issued a fatwa in June 2014 calling on all able-bodied men to take up arms against ISIS leading to the formation of the Hashd al-Shaabi.

Maliki's term as Prime Minister of Iraq ended in September of 2014, when he was replaced by Haider al-Abadi.

The Shiite-led Hashd were formally brought under the command of the Iraqi armed forces by a vote of parliament in December 2016. They played a deciding role retaking areas surrounding the city of Mosul from ISIS.

The Kurdish Peshmerga also halted ISIS advances in northern Iraq in 2014 and played a key role in the Mosul offensive by punching through ISIS lines west of the city and controlling outlying areas.