Jordan welcomes liberation of Iraq from IS

AMMAN, Dec. 10 (Xinhua) -- Jordan on Sunday welcomed Iraq's announcement of liberating its territories from the terror group Islamic State (IS), the state-run Petra news agency reported.

Jordan's Minister of State for Media Affairs Mohammad Momani commended the Iraqi government, armed forces and Iraqi people for standing up to the terror group and ridding Iraq of its radical and criminal acts.

Momani mentioned Jordan's support to Iraq in the fight against the terror group, while reiterating Amman's stance on the need to encounter terrorism that seeks to affect the region and the world.

The minister also highlighted the need for regional and international efforts to fight terrorism and its root causes, adding that the lack of justice creates an environment where radical ideologies flourish, referring to the recent developments in Jerusalem.

He was referring to the violent clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israeli security forces in the past days, after U.S. President Donald Trump took the controversial step on Wednesday to recognize Jerusalem as Israeli capital despite warnings from the Palestinians and Muslims across the world.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced Saturday that IS, or Daesh, no longer occupies significant territories in Iraq, and the fight against IS was over after more than three years of fighting.

Iraqi forces mopped up the last pockets of IS fighters in Iraq's western deserts on Saturday, securing the country's border with Syria, a step that marked the end of the combat operations against the terror group.

IS captured large swaths of territories in northern Iraq and Syria and declared a caliphate in 2014. Enditem