Iraq PM declares victory in 'liberated' Mosul: office

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared victory in the "liberated" city of Mosul today, his office said, after a gruelling nearly nine-month battle against the Islamic state group.

Abadi "arrives in the liberated city of Mosul and congratulates the heroic fighters and the Iraqi people on the achievement of the major victory," his office said in a statement.