Shafaq News- Baghdad

Iraq’s Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi on Wednesday reaffirmed the government’s push to place all weapons under state control, linking the initiative to broader goals of security, sovereignty, and long-term stability.

Marking the anniversary of ISIS’s capture of Mosul, the capital of Nineveh province, al-Zaidi restated that the policy remains firmly in place as authorities pursue parallel tracks of reconstruction, economic reform, and nationwide development aimed at improving living standards and expanding opportunities across the country.

“Despite major challenges, Iraq remained resilient, with Iraqis uniting across communities to fight ISIS,” he added, crediting the Iraqi Armed Forces, the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), and the Peshmerga for efforts that led to the liberation of territory and the defeat of ISIS.

The group seized Mosul in 2014, marking one of Iraq’s most significant territorial losses and prompting a nationwide military and political response. In the following years, Iraqi forces, including the army, the Peshmerga, and the PMF, launched a coordinated campaign to retake territory. Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani issued a call for Iraqis to defend the country, helping mobilize wide participation in the fight. Mosul was eventually retaken in 2017, leading to the collapse of ISIS’s territorial control in Iraq.

Read more: Iraq to place armed factions' weapons under state control: What we know so far