Shafaq News- Baghdad
Iraq’s Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi on Wednesday reaffirmed thegovernment’s push to place all weapons under state control, linking theinitiative to broader goals of security, sovereignty, and long-term stability.
Marking the anniversary of ISIS’s capture of Mosul, the capital ofNineveh province, al-Zaidi restated that the policy remains firmly in place asauthorities pursue parallel tracks of reconstruction, economic reform, andnationwide development aimed at improving living standards and expandingopportunities across the country.
“Despite major challenges, Iraq remained resilient, with Iraqis unitingacross communities to fight ISIS,” he added, crediting the Iraqi Armed Forces,the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), and the Peshmerga for efforts that ledto the liberation of territory and the defeat of ISIS.
The group seized Mosul in 2014, marking one of Iraq’s most significantterritorial losses and prompting a nationwide military and political response. In the following years, Iraqi forces, including the army, the Peshmerga, andthe PMF, launched a coordinated campaign to retake territory. Grand AyatollahAli al-Sistani issued a call for Iraqis to defend the country, helping mobilizewide participation in the fight. Mosul was eventually retaken in 2017, leadingto the collapse of ISIS’s territorial control in Iraq.
: Iraq to place armed factions' weapons under state control: What we know so far
