Only 5 percent of Tal Afar remains under IS control: Iraqi army

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – The Islamic State (IS) is on the verge of defeat in Tal Afar as Iraqi forces are about to take full control of the town, an Iraqi military spokesperson said on Saturday.

Iraqi forces launched the campaign to liberate Tal Afar from the militant group a month after Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced victory in Mosul.

The town, located 80 kilometers (50 miles) west of Mosul, was considered a breeding ground for the extremist group.

According to the Iraqi army spokesperson, the quick collapse of IS in Tal Afar highlighted the group’s “lack of command and control structures.”

Nearly 2,000 militants were believed to be preparing to defend the area from over 40,000 Iraqi forces.

“Tal Afar city is about to fall completely into the hands of our forces, only five percent remains [under IS control],” the military spokesperson told Reuters.

Meanwhile, Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari said the campaign against the militant group in Tal Afar would end soon.

“God willing, the remaining part will be liberated soon,” he said during a news conference on Saturday with French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and Defense Minister Florence Parly in Baghdad.

After nine-months of fierce clashes, IS lost grip of Mosul, their last remaining stronghold and de facto capital in Iraq.

The fall of Mosul effectively ended the group’s so-called caliphate, declared in 2014 by leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

Tal Afar is a strategic area of IS’ supply route between Iraq and Syria where Kurdish forces backed by the US-led coalition is defeating the militant group.