Iraqi PM vows to drive IS from country

"2016 will be the year of the big and final victory, when Daesh's presence in Iraq will be terminated", Abadi said on state television, using another name for Islamic State.

"We are coming to liberate Mosul", Abadi said.

The ISIS group still controls much of northern and western Iraq, as well as vast swaths of neighboring Syria.

Iraq's army declared victory over Islamic State fighters in a provincial capital west of Baghdad today, the first major triumph for the US-trained force since it collapsed in the face of an assault by the militants 18 months ago.

Iraqi TV showed Iraqi soldiers celebrating what the government is calling the "liberation" of the city.

Anbar, including Ramadi, were major focuses of that campaign at the height of the 2003-2011 US war in Iraq.

Washington welcomed Monday's victory with Secretary of State John Kerry saying "we commend the government of Iraq and the fearless Iraqi forces that are displaying tremendous perseverance and courage in this fight".

Ramadi fell into the hands of ISIS jihadists in May in what was considered the Iraqi army's second humiliating loss after their defeat in Mosul in 2014. To defeat ISIS in the long run, al-Abadi will have to convince Iraqi politicians to allow Sunni leaders more autonomy and a role in the government. The Ramadi battle was at least a partial vindication for Iraq's army, which humiliated itself by abandoning Mosul as the Islamic State, a Sunni Muslim group, advanced.

Iraqi troops will "need days" to get to the city's central government complex, said al-Mahlawi, adding that the troops were about half a mile from the complex on Sunday.

Tikrit was heavily damaged in the fighting to liberate the city and looted by predominately Shia militias thereafter.

The former government headquarters in Ramadi was the epicentre of the fighting but Iraqi forces did not rush in when IS pulled out because the entire area was rigged.

Still, American and Iraqi forces cautioned that it would take time to fully secure Ramadi.

Retaking Mosul would effectively mark the end of the caliphate proclaimed by Islamic State in adjacent Sunni areas of Iraq and Syria, according to Zebari.

On Monday, the Iraqi military raised the country's flag over a strategically important government complex in the city, which was seen on coalition forces' drone footage.

"We salute our heroes that returned the trust of their people and proved the power of success when the forces are united", said Maliki.

The self-styled Islamic State (IS) is now limited to hideouts in Sufia, the rural district to the north-east of the city, and in small "stay-behind" locations within the ruined urban centre.

"Daesh are running away now, and all the city is under our control", said Maj. The raids also hit targets near Mosul, Fallujah and Ramadi.

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