Hezbollah says ready to withdraw from Iraq after IS defeat

BEIRUT – The leader of Lebanon's Hezbollah says the group is ready to withdraw its cadres from Iraq once the government in Baghdad declares victory against the Islamic State group there.

In a speech Monday, Hassan Nasrallah says Hezbollah's mission in Iraq has been accomplished with the Islamic State group's defeat.

Hezbollah has maintained advisers and commanders in Iraq, assisting Shiite militias in their war against IS. The group has also sent thousands of its fighters to neighboring Syria to shore up President Bashar Assad's forces.

"If there is no need for them in Iraq anymore, we will withdraw them and send them to areas where they are needed," he said. He also said that the IS's so-called caliphate has ended with the liberation of the town of Boukamal in eastern Syria.