Iraqi Forces Begin House-to-House Battle in 'Al-Ayadiyah' Against ISIS

Iraqi commanders say the country's army, along with Shiite militias, has begun a house-to-house battle in 'Al-Ayadiyah', one of the last cities under the control of the 'Islamic State', before declaring a definitive victory in the city of Tal Afar. Reuters reports, citing Iraqi army officers, that hundreds of experienced Islamic State fighters are defending their positions in this city. Tal Afar is located 80 kilometers west of Mosul, the former capital of the group in northern Iraq, which was completely liberated in July. General Qassem Nizal stated in an interview with Iraqi state television, 'Our soldiers have entered the street fighting phase in Al-Ayadiyah.' He added that militants have taken cover in groups of three in all houses and buildings. Iraqi forces have described the battles in Al-Ayadiyah, located 11 kilometers northwest of Tal Afar, as 'several times worse than the battle of Mosul', which was devastated after nine months of urban and exhausting warfare. Colonel Karim Alami said that crossing the front line of Islamic State militants is like 'opening the gates of hell.' The population of Tal Afar before the war was about 200,000 people. It is reported that in the weeks before the fighting began, several tens of thousands of residents fled the city. According to United Nations statistics, about 30,000 more people have left the city since April. After the liberation of Mosul, where the Islamic State declared its self-proclaimed caliphate in 2014, Tal Afar became the next target of Iraqi forces' operations, supported by the U.S., to drive ISIS fighters out of northwestern Iraq. General Abdul Amir Yarallah, the commander of operations in the area, stated that federal police and special units raised the Iraqi flag after liberating the eastern part of Al-Ayadiyah and a village in its outskirts. A spokesman for the Shiite militias (Hashd al-Shaabi) said that the responsibility for retaking the western part of Al-Ayadiyah, where fierce battles are taking place and militants are resisting strongly, has been assigned to the army and Shiite militias. On Sunday, army forces, special units, Shiite militias, and federal police took full control of the city of Tal Afar near the border with Syria. ISIS militants retreated to 'Al-Ayadiyah' after withdrawing from this city. According to Major General Andrew Kraft, deputy commander of the U.S.-led international coalition, which provides air support for the operations, 'about 150 to 200 militants along with their families have gone to the city of Al-Ayadiyah.' After the expulsion of ISIS militants from the city of Mosul, the capital of Nineveh province, in July of this year, this group now only controls the city of Hawija, located 300 kilometers north of Baghdad, and desert areas near the border with Syria.