Iraq marks ISIS defeat with calls for justice and bolstered security
Shafaq News – Baghdad
Iraqi leaders on Wednesday stressed accountability for ISIS crimes, renewed national unity, and stronger security institutions as the country marked the eighth anniversary of Victory Day.
Caretaker Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani described the 2017 liberation as a moment when Iraqis “reaffirmed sovereignty and dignity over every inch” seized by ISIS. He highlighted the Supreme Religious Authority’s fatwa to fight the group as one of the most influential factors that “mobiliz[ed] determination and resolve.”
Read more: On ISIS defeat anniversary, Iraq confronts a reawakening insurgency
Al-Sudani also vowed that terrorist groups “will not escape accountability” for the atrocities committed against Iraqis, calling for sustained cohesion to support stability.
President Abdullatif Jamal Rashid honored the sacrifices of the army, police, Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), Peshmerga, and tribal fighters. He urged unity and measures to prevent any threat to civilians, alongside efforts to reinforce security institutions and promote peaceful coexistence.
— رئاسة جمهورية العراق (@IraqiPresidency) December 10, 2025
Meanwhile, Qais Al-Khazali — leader of Asaib Ahl al-Haq, a pro-Iran faction within the PMF that fought against ISIS — thanked Iran, Lebanon’s Hezbollah, and “all the honorable and free people in the world” for their support, and urged efforts to build “a strong Iraqi state capable of achieving full sovereignty,” and a national government that serves all people.
— قيس الخزعلي (@Qais_alkhazali) December 10, 2025
