Iraqi forces declare end of ISIS caliphate after capturing historic mosque in Mosul

Iraqi security forces announced the end of the Islamic State's caliphate on Thursday after capturing the historic mosque that symbolized the terror group's power in Mosul.

"Their fictitious state has fallen," military spokesperson Brigadier General Yahya Rasool told state TV on Thursday, three years to the day since the caliphate was declared on the same spot by ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

"The return of al-Nuri Mosque and al-Hadba minaret to the fold of the nation marks the end of the Daesh state of falsehood," Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said, using the Arabic acronym for the terror group.

The 12th-century al-Nuri mosque was blown up by ISIS last week when the U.S.-backed Iraqi forces began a push in its direction, Reuters reported. The jihadist group has flown its black flag from the al-Hadba minaret since 2014.

Lt. Gen. Abdul Wahab al-Saadi said that elite special troops entered the compound on Thursday afternoon following a dawn offensive and took control of the surrounding areas. Explosive experts will have to clear the area as ISIS often rigs sites with booby traps before retreating.

There are approximately 300 militants still fighting in the Old City district, and the terror group still holds territory on the west side of the Tigris River, according to The Independent.

The prime minister has "issued instructions to bring the battle to its conclusion," according to his office.

On Friday, U.S.-backed Iraqi forces stormed the remaining forts held by ISIS in Mosul's Old City, a day after capturing the al-Nuri mosque.

Commanders of Iraq's CTS counter-terrorism units stated that the battle remains challenging as many non-Iraqi ISIS militants have blended in with civilians and are likely to fight to the death.

The operation to liberate Mosul began in October 2016 with a coalition made up of the Iraqi army, elite counter-terrorism units, Iranian-funded militias and Kurdish Peshmerga.

The terror group's stronghold in the Syrian city of Raqqa is under siege, with U.S.-backed forces encircling the city after closing the militants' escape route from the south.

ISIS, however, has denied that it is losing the battle for Mosul, saying the Iraqi army had virtually collapsed with 300 killed and wounded.

"The epic battle of Mosul is one of the most important battles of Islam and its lessons will be applied in other confrontations God willing," the group stated in its weekly publication, al-Naaba.

On June 17, Russia reported that its forces might have been killed Al-Baghdadi in an air strike, but the U.S. government said that it has no information to corroborate such reports.