|
Iraq launches offensive to retake Tal Afar from ISIL
[Al Jazeera] Iraqi forces have launched a ground offensive to retake a key ISIS-held area in the northern part of the country, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said."You either surrender, or die", Abadi said in a televised speech announcing the operation early on Sunday. He was addressing Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allaharound with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not reallyMoslems.... of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS, also known as ISIS) fighters, who have been in control of the city since 2014. Tal Afar and the surrounding area are among the last pockets of ISIS-held territory in Iraq, after victory was declared in djinn-infested Mosul ... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn... , the country's second-largest city. Iraqi officials believe there are between 1,400 and 1,600 ISIS fighters in the Tal Afar area, including many imported muscle, according to Iraqi Brigadier Generai Yahia Rasool who spoke through an interpreter on Saturday. "I don't think it will be tougher than the battle of Mosul," he told news hounds. A US-led coalition is providing air support to the Iraqi troops. In recent days, it has been carrying out dozens of air strikes on Tal Afar, targeting weapons depots and command centres. Posted by: Fred 2017-08-21 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=495507 |