Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah made the remarks during a live broadcast
from Beirut on Tuesday evening following the Iraqi victory over the Takfiri ISIS
terrorist group in the northern city of Mosul, which marked the end of the
nine-month battle for control over the extremists’ former stronghold and Iraq’s
second largest city.
Nasrallah further went on to praise Iraqi Shia paramilitary forces for the key
role in routing ISIS from Mosul.
The Popular Mobilization Units, commonly known by their Arabic name Hashd al-Sha’abi,
along with Iraqi army soldiers have been made sweeping gains against ISIS since
launching the Mosul operation on October 17, 2016.
He also stressed that contrary to claims by the US army that the battle against
terrorism will take years, it in fact only requires a concerted international
effort.
The Lebanese leader also slammed some Arab media outlets for their attempts to
fuel sectarianism and encourage the Takfiri terrorists to kill innocent people.
He further hailed Iraqi ethnic groups for their unity in the battle against
terrorism. He also noted that a religious fatwa by Iraq's top cleric Grand
Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani -- which was issued after Mosul fell to the terrorists
-- served to galvanize tens of thousands of Iraqi Shias.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi formally declared triumph over ISIS in
Mosul on Monday evening.
"I announce from here the end and the failure and the collapse of the terrorist
state of falsehood and terrorism, which the terrorist ISIS announced from
Mosul," Abadi said, adding, "It was due to the Iraqi nation’s united front and
sacrifice that we are now celebrating the victory over ISIS. This is the victory
over darkness and terrorism.”
The recapture of Mosul marked the biggest blow to the Takfiri extremist group
since it declared its so-called caliphate three years ago.