Iraqi PM: Hashd al-Shaabi Operations Continue Unabated

“The Hashd al-Shaabi is a force that we need in the ongoing war with the ISIL, hence we cannot reduce the volunteer forces,” the Iraqi prime minister said.

Al-Abadi reiterated that the Iraqi volunteer forces have amazed the people of the world with their victory over the ISIL.

On Friday, Abadi congratulated the Iraqi nation for the liberation of Fallujah from the grip of the ISIL, saying there is no place in his country for the Takfiri terrorists.

“We promised you the liberation of Fallujah and we retook it. Our security forces control the city except for small pockets that need to be cleared within the coming hours,” Haider al-Abadi said in a brief speech broadcast on state television.

“There is no place in Iraq for you and you will be punished for all the crimes you have committed. The Iraqi people are all united against you. Get out of our country, for Iraq is for Iraqis,” Abadi further said, addressing the terrorists.

The Iraqi premier also promised that the liberation of Mosul – ISIL’s de facto capital in the country since June 2014 – is very close as it is the Iraqi forces’ “next destination” in their campaign to flush the militants out of the country.

Addressing the inhabitants of newly-liberated Fallujah, he said troops from across the country did their best to protect them and bring back peace and security to the city.

Last Friday, army forces raised the Iraqi national flag over the main government compound in Fallujah, symbolizing the recapture of the beleaguered western city from ISIL. The forces met limited resistance from the terrorists, who were fleeing the city. Fallujah, in the western province of Anbar, is located about 69 kilometers (43 miles) west of the capital Baghdad.