 Iraqi and US forces have stepped up their offensive against rebels in the northern town of Tal Afar, while tightening security on the nearby Syrian border, Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari has said. "Iraqi security and coalition forces continue to eliminate terrorists and foreign fighters in Tal Afar and they will continue to pursue this endeavour to the end," al-Jaafari said in a statement on Friday. "We are taking additional measures to ensure security and stability in Tal Afar and to restore its people's rights," he added.
| That's the people's rights not to have their heads chopped off, rather than their rights to do the chopping... |
Al-Jaafari also said that the government had decided to ramp up security controls along the border with Syria: "We have tightened security on the border between (the northern province of) Nineveh and Syria." The US military had announced on Thursday that US-led forces were preparing to launch a military offensive to root out fighters from Tal Afar, where entire neighbourhoods are in the hands of rebel groups. Around 215 fighters have been killed or captured in Tal Afar by US-led forces during the past eight days, according to US military statements.
| Hopefully more killed than captured. |
"The Iraqi government and humanitarian agencies have established temporary housing, food and medical care for those citizens" displaced due to the unrest in Tal Afar, al-Jaafari said. |