© AP Photo/Felipe Dana, FileAirstrikes target Islamic State positions on the edge of the Old City in Mosul, Iraq. Iraq said Saturday that its war on the ISIS is over.
"The Iraqi security forces, under the strong wartime leadership of Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi have made enormous progress in the fight against ISIS," Col. Rob Manning, a Pentagon spokesman, told reporters at a press briefing. "We congratulate all those who fought, and remember all those who died."
While the overall threat has diminished and ISIS no longer holds any significant territory in Iraq, combat operations continue, including fierce firefights against pockets of remaining ISIS fighters.
The Pentagon estimates that roughly 3,000 ISIS fighters are left, mostly in neighboring Syria, but with close to 1,000 still in Iraq.
Even as Abadi was declaring the war was over, Iraqi security forces were meeting "heavy ISIS resistance" in a clearing operation in Hawija that resulted in 13 ISIS members being killed. Iraq police SWAT teams were raiding 13 ISIS hideouts near Mosul, capturing 21 fighters, Manning said.
"There is still work to be done," Manning said. "ISIS remains a threat, and they need to do these back-clearing operations to make sure ISIS does not get a chance to re-establish a stronghold."
Comment: Maybe it's in the best interest of the US to hold off on declaring "mission accomplished" in Iraq to maintain the guise that their forces are still needed there. See also: