BAGHDAD, July 4 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Tuesday congratulated Iraqis on "big victories" for the battle against the Islamic State (IS) in Mosul.
"I congratulate all Iraqis and the religious Marj'iyah (Shiite religious leadership) on the victories achieved on the terrorist Daesh (IS group)," Abadi said at a press conference after his weekly cabinet meeting.
Abadi also said that the Iraqi government has succeeded in destroying the schemes of the IS, and proved that the people of Mosul "are with the government not with terrorism."
Abadi's speech came hours after an Iraqi army commander said that the full liberation of Mosul from the IS is expected within the next two days.
"The maximum deadline to declare full liberation of Mosul from IS group will be on Thursday," Major General Najim al-Jubouri, commander of Free Nineveh's Operations Command, said in a press release.
Iraq's Counter Terrorism Service, army, federal police and the Rapid Response forces have been fighting inside the old city, but the troops are making slow progress due to the stiff resistance of IS militants.
Large parts of Nineveh province including its capital Mosul, 400 km north of Baghdad, have been under IS control since June 2014, when government forces abandoned their weapons and fled, enabling IS militants to take control of parts of Iraq's northern and western regions.
