Iraqis celebrate the liberation of Fallujah on the streets of Baghdad

(AP) - Fireworks lit up the skies of Baghdad on Saturday night as local residents celebrated the recapture of Fallujah by Iraqi troops from the Islamic State group (ISIS).

 

A parade of bikers also took place in the Iraqi capital's Tahrir Square.

 

Iraqi forces gained control of the main hospital in Fallujah on Saturday and were clearing mines after driving IS from most of the city, a military official said.

 

Fallujah was the first Iraqi city to fall to the extremist group, in January  2014, and was the last major ISIS foothold in the sprawling Anbar province, the heartland of the country's Sunni minority.

 

The group still controls Iraq's second largest city, Mosul, in the north.