Villages liberated from ISIS control in Tal Afar

U.S. Army soldiers stands next to a a guided-missile launcher a few miles from the frontline in the village of Abu Ghaddur east of Tal Afar Iraq Sunday Aug. 20 2017. Iraqi forces have launched a multi-pronged assault to retake the town of Tal Afar
Iraq starts offensive to take back Tal Afar from ISIL
Author

21 August, 2017

The US-led Global Coalition against ISIS welcomed Iraqi Prime Minister Abadi's statement on Sunday announcing the launch of the offensive to liberate Tal Afar and the remainder of Ninewah province and northern Iraq from ISIS militants, said U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend, the commander of U.S. and Coalition forces in Iraq and Syria.

"As we announce the start of operations to liberate Tal Afar, we salute the heroic Iraqi forces who fight to bring victory, freedom and peace", Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said in a tweet Sunday.

"I am saying to Daesh (the Islamic state group) that there is no choice other than to surrender or die", he said. "We have won all our battles, and Daesh have always lost". The operation also led to the liberation of A'abrah Kabira, A'abrah Saqirah, Tal al-Qassban, al-Najar, Hanash, Qazel Qew and Kasser Mehrab villages.

The Islamic State has used a network of companies operating out of Wales in the United Kingdom to finance terror plots, including the recent attacks in Spain, a media report said yesterday.

But Lami said Tal Afar's open terrain and wide streets will allow tanks and armored vehicles easy passage.

The Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq, Lise Grande, describes the situation inside Tal Afar as "very tough", where food and water are running out and people lack the basic necessities.

"We don t know how many civilians are still in the areas where fighting is occurring, but we are preparing for thousands more to flee in coming days and weeks".

"Families are trekking for 10 to 20 hours in extreme heat to reach mustering points", Grande said. "They are arriving exhausted and dehydrated".

Anti-IS coalition forces estimate that between 50,000 and 100,000 civilians remain in and around the city.

Backed by USA -led air campaign, Iraqi forces recaptured Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city last month, while the initial steps to retake ISIL's capital in the Syrian city of Raqqah began in June.

Iraqi authorities have set up a toll-free number and a radio station to help guide fleeing civilians to safety.

The Tal Afar offensive involves all branches of the Iraqi security forces, including three army divisions, the counterterrorism service, federal police and emergency response divisions, police and local militias, according to the USA military. The militias captured Tal Afar's airport, on the outskirts of the town, last year.

IS overran large areas north and west of Baghdad in 2014, but Iraqi forces have since regained much of the territory.

Russia-supported Syrian troops have nearly entirely encircled IS in Syria s central desert region, and the jihadists are also facing twin assaults from the Lebanese army and Shiite movement Hezbollah on the Lebanon-Syrian border.


More news