Iraq’s paramilitary Hashed al-Shaabi forces said Saturday that they had retaken all areas west of Mosul from the Islamic State group except the town of Tal Afar. “Hashed forces declare the liberation of all areas west of Mosul except Tal Afar,” the organisation said on social media. Tal Afar is a large town that lies about 50 kilometres (30 miles) west of Mosul on the way to Syria and is still at the hands of the jihadists, although almost completely surrounded by anti-IS forces. While the Counter-Terrorism Service and other federal forces were retaking Mosul one neighbourhood after another as well as urban areas around it, Hashed forces worked their way north and west through mostly desert regions of Iraq. The Hashed’s top Iraqi military commander, known as Abu Mahdi al-Mohandis, spoke overnight to hail the achievements of his forces.

Source: Egypt Independent June 10, 2017 12:56 UTC