France has awarded its highest military honour to a senior Iraqi commander for his role in combating terrorism, Iraq's Joint Operations Command announced on February 6.

Lieutenant General Qais al-Mohammedawi, Deputy Commander of Joint Operations, received the decoration from French Special Forces Commander General Michel Delpit, who travelled to Baghdad specifically to present the award, according to a statement from the Joint Operations Command.

Iraq has been fighting Islamic State since 2014, when the militant group seized about a third of the country's territory. While Iraq declared victory over IS in 2017 after a gruelling three-year campaign supported by US-led coalition forces, the military continues to conduct regular operations against remaining cells that carry out sporadic attacks across the country.

The honour recognises "his outstanding efforts in pursuing remaining ISIS leaders and elements, and careful planning and coordination in deploying Iraqi security forces' capabilities, as well as his commitment to strengthening relations with French advisers within Iraqi legal and constitutional frameworks, particularly in training, consultation, information exchange, and mobilising technical resources, surveillance means and intelligence efforts to pursue ISIS remnants," the statement said.

The ceremony was attended by the Joint Operations Chief of Staff, directors of various departments, and representatives from NATO mission and French military advisers.

Al-Mohammedawi described the honour as "recognition for all officers and security forces personnel stationed across our operations sectors with their various ranks and titles."

He said that "martyrs and wounded heroes and their noble families, after God's grace, deserve credit for the decisive victory over terrorism."

The commander noted that in line with government directives to reassess the international coalition's mission, Iraq had recently signed a bilateral security memorandum with France.

"Iraq seeks and aspires to strengthen relations with France and activate real strategic partnership to develop Iraqi capabilities in facing challenges in ways that serve both friendly countries' interests," he said.

The award comes as Iraq works to redefine its relationship with international forces through bilateral agreements based on cooperation frameworks and sustainable security relations within Iraq's constitutional and legal parameters.