Iraq’s Hashd al-Sha’abi forces retake 17 villages southeast of Tal Afar from Daesh

 Iraqi fighters from Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) have liberated more than a dozen villages near Tal Afar as pro-government forces and army soldiers work on a planned offensive to expel the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group out of its remaining urban strongholds in the country.

 Iraqi fighters from Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) have liberated more than a dozen villages near Tal Afar as pro-government forces and army soldiers work on a planned offensive to expel the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group out of its remaining urban strongholds in the country.

The media bureau of the volunteer forces, commonly known by the Arabic name, Hashd al-Sha’abi, announced in a statement on Tuesday that the fighters had established full control over seventeen villages on the southeastern outskirts of the city, located 63 kilometers west of Mosul, starting from the northern part of Adaya area towards the village of Ain al-Jahash, southeast of Tal Afar.

The statement added that fighters from Popular Mobilization Units are now conducting survey and bomb disposal operations in the liberated areas.

Commander of Nineveh Liberation Operations, Major General Najim Abdullah al-Jubouri, told Reuters in an interview on Monday that he expected a relatively easy victory for government forces in the forthcoming operation to retake Tal Afar from Daesh as the extremists were “worn out and demoralized.”