Iraq begins offensive to retake stronghold of Islamic State
ABU GHADDUR, Iraq — U.S.-backed Iraqi forces began a multipronged assault Sunday to retake the town of Tal Afar, west of Mosul, marking the next phase in the country’s war on the Islamic State group.
Tal Afar and the surrounding area is one of the last pockets of Islamic State-held territory in Iraq after victory was declared in July in Mosul, the country’s second-largest city. The town, 93 miles east of the Syrian border, sits along a major road that was once a key Islamic State supply route.
“The city of Tal Afar will be liberated and will join all the liberated cities,” Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said in a televised speech early Sunday.