Tasnim � A top Iranian cleric praised neighboring Iraq for its success to liberate the city of Mosul from Daesh (ISIL) terrorist group, expressing the hope for the eradication of the terrorists sponsored by the US, Israel and Saudi Arabia.





Addressing worshippers at the Friday prayers weekly event in Tehran, Ayatollah Mohammad Emami Kashani congratulated Iraq on defeating Daesh at the northern city of Mosul.

He also hailed the liberation of Mosul, which has in effect marked the end of Daesh caliphate in Iraq, as well as the recapture of parts of Syria as a victory for the entire Muslim world and for the people advocating justice and countering cruelty.

Denouncing Daesh terrorists for committing the most heinous crimes in the name of religion, Ayatollah Emami Kashani expressed the hope that the main sponsors of the notorious terrorists, namely the US, Israel and Saudi Arabia, would suffer a humiliating defeat.

After eight months of difficult urban warfare, Iraqi military forces on Thursday captured the Mosul mosque at the heart of the northern city, which Daesh had declared its de facto capital.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said the liberation of the site of the symbolic al-Nuri Mosque in Old Mosul is �the declaration of the end of the statelet of Daesh.�

Iraqi authorities expect the long battle for Mosul to end in coming days as remaining Daesh militants are bottled up in just a handful of neighborhoods of the Old City.

Daesh stronghold in Syria�s Raqqa is also close to falling.