Iraqi Prime Minister Heydar Al-Abadi announced the beginning of an operation to release the Tal-Afar city, which was held by the terrorist group “Islamic State”  This is broadcast on Sunday. “I’m telling the militants” of the” Islamic State to either surrender or get killed,” he said in a televised address on television.
The storming of Tal-Afar, located 50 km west of Mosul and inhabited mainly by tourist companies, was preparing for a long time. On the eve of a ground operation a few days ago, the Iraqi Air Force began intense strikes there on the positions of terrorists with the aim of destroying their defensive lines. On Friday, on the approaches to it, a large military group was formed in the units of the Iraqi army and pro-government para-military detachments Al-Hasd al-Shaabi, artillery calculations took positions along the perimeter of the city. According to some reports, most of the civilian population managed to leave their homes.
The City of Tal-Afar: A Brief Introduction
Tal-Afar is a city and district in the Nineveh Governorate of northwestern Iraq, around 60 km west of Mosul and 200 km north-west of Kirkuk. Many people in this city identify themselves as Iraqi-Turks and share a strong kinship with Anatolian people from Turkey. Strong relationships exist between residents of Tal-Afar and with their relatives in Turkey. Arab culture is also evident and many residents wear traditional Arab dresses and checkered headscarves.
