THU 28 - 3 - 2024
 
Date: Feb 14, 2017
Source: The Daily Star
Iraq forces foil ISIS attempt to flee to Syria: spokesman
Agence France Presse
BAGHDAD: Iraqi forces have thwarted an attempt by around 200 extremist fighters to flee their bastion of Tal Afar toward Syria, west of the city of Mosul, a security spokesman said Monday.

Forces from the Hashed al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization), a paramilitary organization dominated by Shiite militia groups, said ISIS used tanks in their bid to break out of Tal Afar.

"The attack by the Daesh (ISIS) terrorist gangs started at around 7 p.m., the fighting lasted around six hours," their spokesman Ahmed al-Assadi told AFP.

Hashed forces have been deployed in desert areas west of Mosul since federal forces launched a massive operation to retake the city from ISIS on Oct. 17.

Their main goals are to retake Tal Afar, a Turkmen-majority city which is still held by ISIS, and to prevent the extremists from being able to move men and equipment between Mosul and their strongholds in Syria.

"This was an attempt by Daesh to open a breach, flee to the Syria border and exfiltrate some leaders and fighters," Assadi said.

He said that Hashed forces received support from army aviation helicopters when ISIS attacked them. He added that the fighting left around 50 ISIS members killed and 17 of their vehicles destroyed.

Assadi did not provide a casualty figure for the Hashed al-Shaabi following the attack, which took place around 20 kilometers (12 miles) southwest of Tal Afar.

ISIS are confined to a corridor between Tal Afar and Mosul by tens of thousands of forces deployed on several fronts.

After retaking the eastern side of Mosul last month, Iraqi forces are preparing to launch an assault on the west bank of the city.

The early stages of the Mosul offensive saw ISIS move fighters between Mosul and the Syrian city of Raqqa, its other major urban stronghold, but their supply lines have now been cut off.



 
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