Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on November 21 declared the end of the so-called Islamic State militant and terrorist group following decisive battles in Iraq and Syria.

Stating that he wished to thank all the "warriors of Islam" for their help in "putting an end to a group that did not bring anything for us but evil, misery, destruction, murder and savagery", he told the Fifth National Congress of the House of Farmers in Tehran: "The bulk of the work was done by the people and armies of Syria, Iraq and Lebanon and we helped them out of our religious and Islamic duty." Rouhani's comments were published in a statement posted on the president's website. Some 1,000 Iranian and Afghan fighters are believed to have died in the fighting across Syria and Iraq.

Iran’s most senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander for external operations, Major General Qassem Soleimani, also declared the end of the jihadist group on a news website run by the military, political and economic group.

On November 19, the Syrian army and its allies took control of Albu Kamal, Islamic State's last stronghold in Syria, news agencies reported. Prior to that, on November 17, Iraqi forces captured the border town of Rawa, the last remaining town in Iraq under the control of the jihadist and Takfiri Islamic State group. That essentially marked the collapse of the “caliphate” proclaimed by the group after it overran much of Iraq’s north and west three years ago. Syria has been supported militarily by Iran, Russia and Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group.

Also in remarks on November 21, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said Islamic State had indeed been defeated from a military perspective, but added that he would only declare final victory after its militants had been routed in the desert, Reuters reported.

Shia Muslim militias helped shore up Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in 2014 after his Damascus government was pushed to the brink of collapse. With the help of allies, however, Assad's administration has managed to turn the tide against Sunni groups backed by Saudi Arabia, the US, United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

On November 20, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said the group was ready to withdraw its militia from Iraq once Baghdad declared victory in Iraq.