Iraqi forces recapture Tal Afar city centre from ISIS

Iraqi government forces recaptured the Ottoman-era citadel in Tal Afar, and took control of the city, according to a military statement.

"Units of the Counter-Terrorism Service liberated the Citadel and Basatin districts and raised the Iraqi flag on top of the citadel," the offensive's commander General Abdulamir Yarallah said.

Clashes were ongoing on the northern outskirts and Iraqi forces were dealing with final pockets of terrorists inside the city, Yarallah said.

The offensive to capture the ISIS-controlled city of Tal Afar had started on August 20, Iraqi forces have captured 19 out of 26 areas in the city so far.

Tal Afar lies on the supply route between Syria and 80 kilometres to the east of former ISIS stronghold, Mosul.

The city, which had a pre-war population of about 200,000, was the latest objective in the war on ISIS, following the recapture of Mosul after a nine-month campaign that left much of the city, the biggest in northern Iraq, in ruins.



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