Iraq declared victory over the Islamic State group in December 2017. Now officials estimate nearly 90 billion US dollars are needed to rebuild the country. As a three-day international reconstruction conference got underway in Kuwait, officials were seeking pledges from donors and investors to restore Iraq's devastated homes, schools, hospitals and infrastructure. The head of Iraq's reconstruction fund - Mustafa al-Hiti - said on Monday that nearly 140-thousand houses were damaged, half of them destroyed, displacing more than two-and-a-half million Iraqis. Aid groups have pledged 330 million US dollars on the first day of the conference. Officials say much more is needed.