MOSUL: Islamic State´s "state of falsehood" has come to an end, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said on Thursday, after Iraqi troops captured the wrecked historic mosque of Mosul in which the insurgents declared their self-styled caliphate three years ago.
"The return of al-Nuri Mosque and al-Hadba minaret to the fold of the nation marks the end of the Daesh state of falsehood," Abadi said in a statement, referring to the ultra-hardline group by an Arabic acronym.
He said Iraqi forces would continue to hunt Islamic State´s fighters "to kill them and detain them, down to the last one".
The insurgents blew up the medieval mosque and its famed leaning minaret a week ago as U.S. -backed Iraqi forces advanced towards it.
Their black flag had been flying from al-Hadba (The Hunchback) minaret since June 2014.
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