Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi arrived in Mosul on July 9 to “congratulate the armed forces and Iraqi people on … victory” over Islamic State (IS), according to his Twitter account.

Iraqi forces had reached the Tigris riverside and had almost fully recaptured Mosul from IS, Al Jazeera said on July 9.

About 100 IS fighters had been reported to be trapped in a sliver of the Old City along the Tigris. Many Islamic State fighters vowed to “fight to the death”, Reuters reported on July 8, noting that, without Mosul, IS in Iraq would control mainly rural, desert areas west and south of the city . Credit: Command of Anti-Terrorism Forces via Storyful