Iraq's premier on Monday marked a year since his country declared victory against the Islamic State group by pledging to fight corruption next, even as he faces a political crisis within his government.

A year ago, his predecessor announced the conclusion of a three-year battle to oust IS, putting an end to the so-called jihadist "caliphate" straddling Syria and Iraq after they seized swathes of Iraq.

It was "the biggest victory against the forces of evil and terrorism", Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi said Monday at a ceremony at the defence ministry.

He said Iraq could now turn to a host of other challenges, including hundreds of thousands of people still displaced, widespread unemployment and rampant corruption.

But he did not mention the current stalemate over the cabinet, where political infighting has left eight of the 22 ministries unmanned.

"The final victory we hope for is achieving our people's ambitions and hopes," he said.

"Corruption was and remains one of the many faces of ruin and terrorism. If we do not eliminate corruption, our victory will be lacking."

In a congratulatory note on Twitter, President Barham Saleh said Monday marked "the anniversary of victory over the ugliest criminal assault that history has seen," but that it must be followed by parallel political progress.

- Green Zone reopens -

IS, which traces its roots to Al-Qaeda in Iraq, sent shockwaves across the world when it swept across a third of Iraq in 2014.

It swiftly took over Mosul, making the northern city the de facto capital of its "caliphate".

For three years, Iraqi troops, the Hashed al-Shaabi paramilitary units, and US-led coalition forces waged a brutal fight to oust the jihadists, finally recapturing Mosul in June 2017.

On December 9, then-premier Haider al-Abadi announced "victory" over IS, and the following day was declared a national holiday.

To mark the one-year anniversary on Monday, checkpoints and military vehicles across the capital Baghdad were decorated with balloons and elite troops put on a military exercise.

Abu Mehdi al-Muhandis, Hashed's deputy leader, issued an online statement hailing the force and also thanking Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah for backing the units.

Unlike the spontaneous street parties marking victory last year, there were few public celebrations during the day Monday.

But as the sun set, cars amassed at two entrances to the high-security Green Zone, home to government buildings and Western embassies.

Starting Monday, the government will reopen a main thoroughfare running through the area for five hours every evening.

"Today we are celebrating two occasions: the victory, and the Green Zone opening," said Hussein al-Sharfi, 30, seated in a car decorated with balloons and Iraqi flags beside the zone's northern gate.

Just after 5:00 pm local time, security forces pulled back the yellow-painted metal barricades and dozens of cars entered the zone as a convoy of motorcycles streamed out, having crossed from the other side.

"This is the first time I see this much traffic in 15 years," said Jabbar al-Shuwaili, a parliamentary advisor who lives in the Green Zone.

"I hope my daughter's future will be open as the Green Zone," he said, watching the passing cars with his daughter Rand, aged nine.

- New start? -

But beyond the celebrations, Iraq remains mired in crisis.

Parliamentary elections in May produced no clear ruling coalition, with political divisions paralysing Abdel Mahdi's efforts to fill key ministries.

"Abdel Mahdi has found himself hostage to the very vested interests and political forces that Iraqis hoped his government would stand up to," said Fanar Haddad, an Iraq expert at the National University of Singapore's Middle East Institute.

Abdel Mahdi's pledge to stamp out corruption is identical to the one made by Abadi when he announced the win against IS last year.

The former premier was unable to tackle embezzlement of public funds in Iraq, which is the 12th most corrupt country in the world according to Transparency International.

The challenges extend beyond the political. Much of the country remains in ruins, including large swathes of the north, as authorities struggle to gather funds to rebuild.

More than 1.8 million Iraqis are still displaced, many languishing in camps, and 8 million require humanitarian aid, according to the Norwegian Refugee Council.

Observers also fear an outbreak of violence either between rival political forces once united against IS, or between authorities and a protest movement angered by lack of services and jobs.

And while IS no longer holds large chunks of territory, it can still wage hit-and-run attacks that chip away at the sense of security many hoped would return.

The Islamic State group in Iraq
Baghdad (AFP) Dec 10, 2018 - The Islamic State (IS) group launched a lightning offensive in Iraq in 2014, seizing nearly a third of the country before being beaten back and declared defeated a year ago.

Here is a timeline:

- Creation -

In an April 2013 recording, the head of the Al-Qaeda-linked Islamic State of Iraq, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, announces the creation of a group called the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

Al-Qaeda disavows links with the new outfit by early 2014.

- Jihadist sweep -

ISIL fighters, backed by former officers of late dictator Saddam Hussein, capture Fallujah and parts of Ramadi, west of Baghdad, in January 2014.

Fallujah is the first major town to fall to the militants since the US-led invasion of 2003 that toppled Saddam.

In June, ISIL launches an offensive in northwestern Iraq, seizing Mosul and Sunni Arab areas bordering the autonomous Kurdistan region and routing the badly prepared Iraqi army without a fight.

- 'Caliphate' proclaimed -

Also in June, the group declares the creation of a "caliphate" in territories it holds in Iraq and Syria, rebranding itself the Islamic State (IS) and declaring Baghdadi the "caliph".

In early August, IS seizes several northwestern towns held by ethnic Kurds, including Sinjar. Tens of thousands of civilians flee into the mountains.

Thousands of women and young girls, in particular from the Yazidi minority, are subjected to rape, abduction and enslavement in IS-controlled zones, according to the United Nations.

- US-led coalition -

In August, US warplanes strike IS positions in northern Iraq and then form a coalition of more than 70 countries to fight the group in Iraq and Syria. Washington deploys 5,000 soldiers.

In March 2015, Iraq announces the "liberation" of Saddam's hometown of Tikrit, north of Baghdad, after nearly 10 months under IS rule.

In November, coalition-backed Kurdish forces retake Sinjar.

In February 2016, Anbar provincial capital Ramadi is recaptured and in June, Iraqi forces retake Fallujah.

A week later, an IS attack in Baghdad kills 320 people.

- Mosul recaptured -

On July 10, 2017, then Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declares victory in Mosul after a nearly nine-month offensive led by a 30,000-strong federal force backed by coalition air strikes.

In August, the last major IS urban stronghold in northern Iraq, Tal Afar, is declared "liberated". It is followed in October by Hawija, one of the few remaining IS holdouts.

- Victory proclaimed -

On December 9, Abadi declares victory in the three-year war against the IS, saying Iraqi forces are in "complete control" of the entire Iraqi-Syrian border.

The following day is declared a public holiday to celebrate, with a military parade through the capital.

The jihadists, however, maintain sleeper cells, including along the border with Syria, and have carried out periodic hit-and-run attacks.

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A year after IS defeat, Iraq in throes of political crisis
Baghdad (AFP) Dec 10, 2018
A year since Iraq announced "victory" over the Islamic State group, the country finds itself in the throes of political and economic crises left unresolved during the long battle against jihadists. Unified against the common menace of IS, Iraq's political elites are now at loggerheads over the drawn-out formation of a cabinet as the threat of renewed popular protests looms. Iraq is no stranger to instability. It fought an eight-year war with Iran in the 1980s, then a conflict over Kuwait followe ... read more