{"id":25530,"date":"2017-08-31T18:52:52","date_gmt":"2017-08-31T18:52:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/smg.go-vip.net\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2017\/08\/31\/iraq-says-tal-afar-fully-liberated-from-islamic-state\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T02:21:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T02:21:09","slug":"iraq-says-tal-afar-fully-liberated-from-islamic-state","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/flashpoints\/2017\/08\/31\/iraq-says-tal-afar-fully-liberated-from-islamic-state\/","title":{"rendered":"Iraq says Tal Afar ‘fully liberated’ from Islamic State"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

BAGHDAD \u2014 The northern town of Tal Afar has been \u201cfully liberated\u201d from the Islamic State group, Iraq\u2019s prime minister said Thursday, further shrinking the territory controlled by the extremists who overran nearly a third of the country three years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The militants have suffered a series of major defeats in recent months, including the loss of Mosul, the second-largest city, in July.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Iraqi troops \u201celiminated and smashed\u201d the militant group in al-Ayadia district, northwest of Tal Afar, where they had fled last week, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo Daesh criminals we say: Wherever you are we will come to liberate and you have to choose only death or surrender,\u201d al-Abadi added, using an Arabic acronym for the group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the fall of Tal Afar, all of Ninevah province is \u201cin the hands of our brave troops,\u201d he said. The ethnically mixed province was the first to fall to the Islamic State when its militants swept across large parts of Iraq and Syria in the summer of 2014.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The group still controls a large area of eastern Syria, along the border with Iraq, as well as parts of Raqqa, the capital of the group\u2019s self-styled caliphate, where it is battling U.S.-backed and Kurdish-led Syrian forces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Iraqi officials often declare areas liberated before the fighting has completely ended, and the militants have been known to carry out surprise counterattacks. The Tal Afar operation began nearly two weeks ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The announcement on Tal Afar came a day after Jordan and Iraq reopened their only border crossing after a two-year closure. They were able to reopen it after Iraqi forces drove IS from most of the vast Anbar province in western Iraq.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
An Iraqi policeman checks the belongings of a group of displaced civilians at a collection point west of Mosul on the outskirts of Tal Afar, Iraq, Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017. (Balint Szlanko\/AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Al-Abadi vowed to retake all areas still under ISIS control. In Iraq, they are now largely confined to the northern town of Hawija and a handful of others \u2014 Qaim, Rawa and Ana \u2014 near the Syrian border.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a separate statement, the Iraqi military confirmed that their next target is Hawija, but did not elaborate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Iraqi state TV interrupted its regular programs and played national songs, showing a live feed from Tal Afar, where soldiers danced and celebrated the victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his announcement, al-Abadi alluded to an agreement brokered by Lebanon\u2019s Hezbollah militant group that allowed hundreds of ISIS fighters to evacuate the Lebanon-Syria border and head toward IS-held territory in eastern Syria, near Iraq.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Iraq and the U.S.-led coalition criticized the deal, saying the extremists should be killed on the battlefield and not be allowed to regroup elsewhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\t