Iraq: Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) loses key Iraqi city to government forces
The battle has been led by the Badr Brigade, a Shia group in the Iraqi army [Reuters]
The Iraqi government and a powerful group of Shia fighters have declared victory over the the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant group in the key Iraqi province of Diyala.
The offensive has been led by the Badr Brigade, a Shia group in the Iraqi army.
The group held a victory rally on Monday and says it is ready to move north into ISIL strongholds.
The central government forces, various tribes and Kurdish fighters controlled by the Kurdish government in northern Iraq have been battling the ISIL, which has also come under sustained air strikes by a US-led coalition.
ISIL captured large swaths of territory in Iraq and Syria in an offensive earlier in 2014, plunging Iraq into its worst crisis since US troops left at the end of 2011.