Islamic State stronghold Tal Afar about to fall, says Iraqi military

[DonViejo]

Source: Reuters




AUGUST 26, 2017 / 4:46 AM / 17 MINUTES AGO

Thaier Al-Sudani and Kawa Omar
4 MIN READ

TAL AFAR, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraqi forces raised the national flag on Saturday in the heart of Tal Afar, Islamic State’s stronghold in the country’s northwest, and said they were poised to take full control of the city after a week-long offensive.

Tal Afar is the latest objective in the U.S.-backed war on the jihadist group following the recapture in July of Mosul, where it declared its self-proclaimed caliphate over parts of Iraq and Syria in 2014.

Tal Afar was cut off from the rest of IS-held territory in June and the campaign to recapture it started on Aug. 20, when up to 2,000 militants were believed to be defending it against around 50,000 attackers, according to western military sources.

“Tal Afar city is about to fall completely into the hands of our forces, only five percent remains” under Islamic State control, an Iraqi military spokesman told Reuters. Elite forces had liberated the heart of the city “and raised the national flag on top of the citadel building,” a statement from the Iraqi joint operations





Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-iraq-tal-afar-idUSKCN1B608R?il=0

[lastlib]

1. Good News.

These goat-f*ckers can't be defeated and eradicated from the earth soon enough.

[sandensea]

2. But as long as nothing is done about the Gulf State money conduits, we'll be playing whack-a-mole

We - as well as the Russians and the Assad regime - may crush ISIS/Al-Qaeda associates here or there. But as long as the money pipeline from Qatar and the Saudis remains intact, they'll always regroup and it'll all be in vain.

Of course, the Saudis know how much we like to keep our gas at $2.19 a gallon - and use it as an implied threat should we ever get serious about doing anything about this.