Iraqi troops drive Isil from stronghold
IRAQI forces backed by local militia and the Us-led coalition have “fully liberated” Tal Afar’s town centre in their bid to drive Isil from the city, dealing another blow to the jihadists.
Just a week after announcing an offensive to push the terror group from one of its last major urban strongholds in Iraq, the Joint Operations Command said Iraqi forces held all 29 districts of the city and were pursuing final clearing operations.
Yesterday’s statement said Iraqi troops were now heading to al-ayadia district, about 10 miles northwest of Tal Afar, where militants have fled.
Pro-government fighters could already be seen celebrating, flashing victory signs as their tanks rolled through the streets, waving Iraqi flags and taking down black Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) banners from buildings and lamp posts.
The offensive comes just weeks after Iraqi forces retook their country’s second city, Mosul, from Isil, in their biggest victory since the jihadists seized control of large parts of Syria and Iraq in mid-2014.
Much of that territory has since been retaken with support from coalition air strikes and Isil is also facing a major Us-backed offensive against its de facto Syrian capital Raqqa.
The loss of Tal Afar, in northern Iraq between Mosul and the Syrian border, will deprive Isil of what was once a significant hub for movement between the Syrian and Iraqi components of the self-styled “caliphate” it declared three years ago. On Saturday, Iraqi forces reached Tal Afar’s Ottoman-era citadel and took control of the city centre.
Government troops backed by units from the Hashed al-shaabi paramilitary coalition launched the assault last Sunday after weeks of coalition and Iraqi air strikes.
Progress in Tal Afar has been far more rapid than in Mosul, which fell to Iraqi forces only after a gruelling nine-month battle.
Officials have said they hope to announce victory by Eid al-adha, the Muslim holiday due to start in Iraq on Saturday.
The militants still control the northern town of Hawija as well as Qa’im, Rawa and Anah, in western Iraq near the Syrian border.