Eastern Mosul “Fully Liberated”: Iraq’s Prime Minister

Iraq’s Prime Minister, Haider al-Abadi, said that the eastern part of Mosul was “fully liberated”, three months after a massive US-backed operation began. Al-Abadi hailed the “unmatched heroism of all security forces factions” and the public support for the operation. The UN announced that schools were reopening in the city, in some cases more than two years after they had been closed when Islamic State took over the city. At the same time, western Mosul, with an estimated 750,000 civilians remains under Islamic State control, and analysts say it will not be easy to retake the city.