The last ISIS-held town in Iraq is now free

Iraqi forces reclaimed the last Islamic State-held town in Iraq on Friday, more than three years after the militant group seized almost a third of the nation's territory, The Associated Press reports. The U.S.-backed Iraqi forces took control of the town of Rawa, where an estimated 10,000 civilians were being held hostage, Al Jazeera reports.

"Iraq has lost $100 billion in the [war against ISIS], but we have achieved success in three battles; namely liberating the land, maintaining Iraq's unity, and standing up to the threats," Iraq's prime minister, Haider al-Abadi, said Saturday.

The special U.S. presidential envoy to the global coalition to defeat ISIS, Brett McGurk, tweeted news of the liberation of Rawa, adding: "Days of [ISIS's] phony 'caliphate' are coming to an end."

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