Iraqi forces storm neighbourhood in IS-held Tal Afar

Iraqi security forces battling the Islamic State (IS) militant group on Tuesday broke into the first neighbourhood west of the IS-held city of Tal Afar, the military said.

The commandos of the Counter Terrorism Service (CTS) forces initiated a new push into the neighbourhood of Kifah and were fighting the IS there, Xinhua news agency quoted a Joint Operations Command (JOC) official as saying.

The Iraqi Army's 9th Armoured Division and paramilitary Hashd Shaabi units broke into the eastern side of the city, the official said.

The advance inside the city came two days after Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared the start of an operation to retake control of the northern city of Tal Afar and nearby areas from the IS.

"We announce the launch of an operation to liberate Tal Afar. I say to Daesh (IS), either you surrender or die," Abadi said.

Tal Afar, about 70 km from Mosul, is the last IS redoubt in the Nineveh province.

The UN International Organisation for Migration estimates that about 10,000 to 40,000 people were still living in Tal Afar and surrounding areas.

Major General Najim al-Jubouri, commander of Nineveh's Operations Command, said he estimated there were between 1,500 and 2,000 IS militants in Tal Afar.

--IANS

py/dg