MOSUL (Dispatches) -- Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared victory in the "liberated" city of Mosul on Sunday, his office said, in the biggest defeat yet for Daesh terrorists.
"The commander in chief of the armed forces (Prime Minister) Haider al-Abadi arrived in the liberated city of Mosul and congratulated the heroic fighters and the Iraqi people for the great victory," said a statement from his office.
The announcement comes after a grueling nearly nine-month battle to retake the northern city from the extremists after three years under their rule.
A photo on Abadi's official Twitter account showed him dressed in a black military uniform and cap as he arrived in Mosul to announce the recapture of the city.
Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Hussein Dehqan swiftly hailed the liberation in two separate congratulatory messages to commander of Hashd al-Sha'abi volunteers Hadi al-Ameri and his Iraqi counterpart Erfan Mahmoud al-Hayali.
The liberation, the message read, brought happiness to all advocates and supporters of stability, peace and security in Iraq, particularly the Iraqi nation, government and the armed forces.
"It was impossible to achieve such victories in Iraq without the sincerity, bravery and devotion of the volunteer forces under the leadership of top Shia clerics and the country’s brave commanders,” he added.
In his message to Hayali, the Iranian defense minister said, "This major victory thwarted plots of the U.S. and the Zionist regime.”
The fighting did not seem to be completely over, with gunfire still audible in Mosul and airstrikes hitting the city around the time the premier's office released the statement.
The declared victory in Mosul marks a milestone for the Iraqi security forces, who had crumbled in the face of a Daesh onslaught across Iraq in 2014.
Daesh swept across much of Iraq's Sunni Arab heartland in a lightning offensive that year, proclaiming a self-styled "caliphate" straddling Iraq and neighboring Syria.
But the Takfiri group, which is facing twin offensives in both countries, has since lost large parts of the territory it once controlled.
The Iraqi forces launched their campaign to recapture Mosul in October, seizing its eastern side in January and launching the battle for its western part the next month.
But the fight grew tougher when Iraqi forces entered the densely-populated Old City on the western bank of the Tigris River that divides the city.
In recent days, security forces have killed extremists trying to escape their dwindling foothold in Mosul, as Iraqi units fought to retake the last two Daesh held areas near the Tigris.
Earlier Sunday Iraq's Joint Operations Command had said it killed "30 terrorists" trying to escape across the river.
Even in the final days of the battle, thousands of civilians remained trapped inside the Old City and those who fled arrived grief-stricken after losing relatives in Takfiri sniper fire and bombardments.
Around 915,000 residents have fled Mosul since the start of the battle for the city in October, the United Nations said this week.
Abadi declared on Twitter late last month that "we are seeing the end of the fake (Daesh) state.”
The recapture of Mosul will not however mark the end of the threat posed by Daesh, which holds territory elsewhere in Iraq and is able to carry out frequent bombings in government-held areas.
The retaking of Mosul will no doubt inspire hope among many Iraqis: hope that they can return home, rebuild their lives, and heal the divisions within their society. But these hopes will not be realized quickly or easily. Mosul residents continue to face severe risks from revenge attacks and explosives, and a lack of clean water, healthcare, and other basic services.
The United Nations predicts it will cost more than $1bn to repair basic infrastructure in Mosul. In some of the worst affected areas, almost no buildings appear to have escaped damage, and Mosul's dense construction means the extent of the devastation might be underestimated, UN officials said.
Meanwhile, The Takfiri terrorists are expected to revert to insurgent tactics as they lose more territory.