Iraqi PM raises flag in border area taken from ISIL

ap

Iraq’s state TV says the prime minister has raised the Iraqi flag at a border crossing with Syria days after Iraqi forces retook it from the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL).

Al-Iraqiya TV says Haider al-Abadi visited the newly-liberated town of Qaim and the nearby Husaybah border crossing in far western Iraq on Nov. 5.

Both sit along what was once an important supply route used by IS when the group controlled large areas in Syria and Iraq.

Iraqi forces backed by the U.S.-led coalition drove IS from Qaim and surrounding areas last week, in what coalition officials said marked the end of the conventional war against the extremist group in Iraq.

The militants are expected to rely more on insurgent-style attacks now that they no longer hold significant territory.