IS drone targets Iraqi forces, Hashd al-Shaabi kill 7 militants fleeing Tal Afar

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – The Iranian-backed Hashd al-Shaabi Shia militia killed seven Islamic State (IS) militants attempting to flee the town of Tal Afar toward the Syrian border, according to the group’s media branch.

The Hashd al-Shaabi, also known as the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), announced they killed seven members of the militant group on Thursday.

The PMF also said they destroyed three IS vehicles as the extremists were attempting to escape the surrounded town of Tal Afar, roughly 40 kilometers west of Mosul, and cross over to Syria.

The fight to retake Tal Afar from IS has not yet begun despite Iraqi forces conducting air strikes on the group’s remaining stronghold in northern Iraq in preparation for the ground assault.

However, early stages of the operation against IS in Tal Afar are underway as security forces began liberating surrounding areas last week.

The PMF has already started targeting militant positions in and around the city, and “will actively engage in the battle” according to their spokespersons.

In response, IS has allegedly been targeting PMF positions in the Nineveh desert and around Tal Afar.

The militant group’s media channel, Amaq News Agency, published a video on Wednesday of an IS drone dropping a grenade on a PMF camp in Tal Abta, some 60 kilometers south of Tal Afar.

Tal Afar, a predominantly Turkmen city, fell under the control of the militant group when it first emerged in northern Iraq in 2014.

After a nine-month long campaign against IS in Mosul, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi marked Tal Afar as the Iraqi forces’ next target but has not yet provided a timeline for the offensive. 

Iraqi security officials have said nearly 40,000 soldiers would be involved in the operation to free the city.

In Syria, a US-backed Kurdish-led alliance has liberated 55 percent of territory from the militant group in Raqqa, their de facto capital in the country.

However, swaths of land in Deir al-Zor Province remain under IS control.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany