Iraqi army forces and the units under them launched an operation on Tal Afar and started to enter the city center from the south.

Iraqi army and police forces and the Shia militia force Heshdî Shabî announced that they have entered Tal Afar city center as part of the operation to liberate Tal Afar launched on August 20.

The Iraqi army announced that they entered the Hazra neighborhood from the south of the city and the Hashd al-Shaabi announced that they entered the city center from the east side.

Tal Afar was invaded by ISIS on June 16, 2014 and is 63 km to the west of Mosul. Mostly Shia and Sunni Turkmens live in the town, but most of the Shia had to move away after the ISIS invasion.

The Tal Afar operation was launched on August 20 with the Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar Al-Abadi’s announcement. The operation is carried out by the Iraqi army, anti-terror forces, federal police forces and the Shia militia force Hashd al-Shaabi, with a total of a 40.000 strong force.

Tal Afar is one of the largest residential areas still under ISIS control left in Iraq and Southern Kurdistan. With Tal Afar taken back, ISIS will have only Kirkuk’s Hawija district and the rural areas to the southwest of Mosul left under their control in Iraq.