US congratulates Iraq on end of war against IS

BAGHDAD – The United States is congratulating Iraq following the prime minister's announcement that the war against the Islamic State is over.

State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert says the US offers "sincere congratulations to the Iraqi people and to the brave Iraqi Security Forces, many of whom lost their lives heroically fighting ISIS," in an official statement released Saturday.

The statement adds "the United States joins the Government of Iraq in stressing that Iraq's liberation does not mean the fight against terrorism, and even against ISIS, in Iraq is over."