Iraq forces say break through Islamic States lines in Tal Afar

Reuters

25 August 2017 at 11:34 am

A military vehicle of the Counter Terrorism Service (CTS) is seen during the fight with the Islamic state militants in Tal Afar, Iraq, August 25, 2017. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani

ERBIL, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraqi government forces broke through Islamic State's lines inside Tal Afar on Friday, and reached the old city center and the neighborhood around the Ottoman-era citadel, according to a military statement. On the sixth day of the offensive, Iraqi elite units seized the northern city's neighborhoods of Nida' and Taliaa, according to a statement from the Iraqi Joint Operations Command. Tal Afar lies along the supply route between Syria and the former Islamic State stronghold of Mosul. It has produced some of the militant group's most senior commanders. (Reporting by Maher Chmaytelli; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

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