On Sunday an Iraqi military parade in Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone celebrated final victory over Islamic State. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi looked on as troops marched in formation, their bodies spelling “victory day” in Arabic.
Abadi is also commander-in-chief of the armed forces. He listened solemnly to Quranic verses from a chapter titled al-Nasr, meaning victory.
Iraqi forces recaptured the last areas still under Islamic State control along the border with Syria on Saturday.