Shiites to block ISIL getaway

Militias told to free Tal Afar as Ankara warns of retribution

BAGHDAD // Iraqi paramilitary forces have been ordered to retake the town of Tal Afar and stop ISIL fighters fleeing west from Mosul into Syria.

Hashed Al Shaabi, an umbrel- la group for Shiite militias, will “liberate the Tal Afar district” and “fully isolate Mosul from Syria”, said Jawwad Al Tulaibawi of the Asaib Ahl Al Haq militia.

Hashed has played major roles in battles against ISIL, but has been largely sidelined since the operation to retake Mosul was announced on Monday last week because of accusations of atrocities against Sunnis. Among those opposed to the Shiite militias taking part is Turkey, which has troops east of Mosul despite repeated demands by Baghdad to leave.

Amid increasing tension with Iraq, Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said yesterday that if there were a threat to Ankara, “we are ready to use all our resources, including a ground operation”.

Tal Afar was a Shiite-majority town before it was overrun by ISIL in 2014 and its recapture is a top priority for Shiite militias.

Iraqi forces were inching to within striking distance of eastern Mosul yesterday as defence chiefs from the US-led coalition met in Paris to review the campaign.

With the Mosul battle in its second week, French president Francois Hollande called for the coalition to prepare for what happens after the city is recaptured and for the next stages of the war against ISIL.

“The recapture is not an end in itself,” Mr Hollande said.

“We must already anticipate the consequences of the fall of Mosul.”

Meanwhile, forces from Iraq’s elite counter-terrorism service retook areas close to the eastern outskirts of Mosul.

“On our front, we have advanced to within 5 or 6 kilometres of Mosul,” said their commander, Gen Abdelghani Al Assadi, from the Christian town of Bartalla.

“We must now coordinate with forces on other fronts to launch a coordinated attack.”