Iraqi forces have seized the district of al-Qaim from Islamic State , one of the last remaining territories in the country held by the militants.
Losing al-Qaim leaves just the village of Rawa further down river on the opposite bank still in the hands of the ultra-hardline militants, who swept through a third of Iraq in 2014.
Islamic State’s self-proclaimed caliphate was on the verge of final defeat on Friday, where across the border in Syria, government forces declared victory in Deir al-Zor – the last major city in the country’s eastern desert where the militants still had a presence
Government forces are now about 40 km away from Albu Kamal, the Syrian town across the border from al-Qaim, and preparing for a final confrontation.
