Iraq PM vows to free country from IS jihadists in 2016

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi vowed Monday to free the whole country from the Islamic State group in 2016, speaking after security forces retook the city of Ramadi from the jihadists.

"If 2015 was a year of liberation, 2016 will be the year of great victories, terminating the presence of Daesh (IS) in Iraq and Mesopotamia," he said in a televised address.

"We are coming to liberate Mosul, which will be the fatal blow to Daesh," he said.

Abadi did not make it clear whether Mosul would be the next battle or whether Iraqi forces would seek to retake other towns and cities first.

The prime minister congratulated the security forces on their recapture late Sunday of Ramadi, which they had lost in May following a devastating jihadist onslaught.

Photo: Members of Iraq's elite counter-terrorism service parade after they recaptured the city of Ramadi (AFP/Daily Mail)