Iraq launches operation to liberate Tal Afar from Daesh control

Iraq has begun an operation to liberate the northern city of Tal Afar from Daesh terrorists weeks after driving the terror group out of its last urban stronghold in the country, the Defense Ministry says.

Iraq has begun an operation to liberate the northern city of Tal Afar from Daesh terrorists weeks after driving the terror group out of its last urban stronghold in the country, the Defense Ministry says.

Mohammed al-Khudari, a spokesman for Iraq’s Defense Ministry, announced that the Iraqi Air Force launched Tal Afar liberation operation by carrying out aerial attacks on Daesh positions on Tuesday.

He stressed that the ground offensive to retake Tal Afar, located 70 kilometers west of Mosul, will start following the completion of those strikes.

Following the start of the offensive, a local source said that six large explosions rocked several areas in Tal Afar. One of the blasts reportedly hit a workshop used to manufacture explosives in the west of the city.