Iraq forces recapture Tal Afar centre, citadel from IS stronghold

Iraqi forces battling to drive the Islamic State group from Tal Afar said on Saturday they had recaptured the northern city's centre and its Ottoman-era citadel.

"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 in a statement.