Iraqi PM says has won back half of ISIS-held territories

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi looks on during a joint news conference with Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi at the end of a meeting at Chigi Palace in Rome, Italy February 10, 2016. REUTERS/Tony Gentile

MUNICH (Reuters) - Iraqi forces have won back half of the territory previously under the control of Islamic State militants, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi told a security conference in Germany on Friday. "The area we have liberated so far is more than half of what was occupied by Daesh before," he said, using the Arab term for the militant group. "We intend this year to make it the final year and the last year for the existence of Daesh in Iraq." (Reporting By Robin Emmott and Shadia Nasralla; Editing by Noah Barkin)