Iraq's Prime Minister entered Mosul to declare victory in the nine-month battle for control of the former Isis stronghold, signalling the near-end of the most gruelling campaign against the group to date and dealing a near-fatal blow to the survival of its self-declared caliphate.
Haider al-Abadi was thronged by men holding cameraphones as music blared and others danced. "This is all a result of the sacrifices of the heroic fighters," he said.
But the sound of airstrikes echoed through the skies and smoke rose from the last pocket of territory the militants control. The stench of bodies filled the air. Between the rubble and rebar were the arms of a young child, still wrapped in pale pink sleeves.
The UN predicts that at least US$1 billion will be required to rebuild Mosul's basic infrastructure.
When the offensive was launched last October, US officials were privately predicting a two-month fight. Instead, the fight lasted for nine months, longer than the siege of Stalingrad. It has cost thousands of lives, uprooted hundreds of thousands of people and shattered vast stretches of the city.
