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Yazidi sisters reunited after three years in Islamic State captivity

Yazidi girls Suhayla, 12, and Rosa, 13, who were reunited with their family after being enslaved by Islamic State militants, walk at Sharya Camp in Duhuk, Iraq December 18,

y Raya Jalabi

SHARYA, Iraq (Reuters) – When Rosa, now 14, asked her Islamic State captors about her younger sisters Bushra, 12, and Suhayla, seven, she was told they had been killed for misbehaving.

“At that point, I didn’t care about anything anymore. Even if I died,” she said. “I never thought I’d see them again.”

The sisters were finally reunited on Sunday, more than three years after being taken by the militants in an assault on Sinjar, the Yazidi heartland on August 3, 2014.

Yazidi girl Rosa, 13, who was reunited with her family after being enslaved by Islamic State militants, is seen at Sharya Camp in Duhuk, Iraq December 18, 2017. REUTERS/Ari Jalal

Just last week, Iraq declared “final victory” over Islamic State, with parades through the streets of Baghdad in celebration after three years of bloody war.

But the damage done by the militants is not easily remedied: they brutalized Iraqis, exposing fault lines in the country’s already fragile social fabric and ripping families apart.

For Rosa and her family, though overjoyed at reuniting, the last three years will not be easily erased.

The militants shot, beheaded, burned alive or kidnapped more than 9,000 members of the minority religion, in what the United Nations has called a genocidal campaign against them. According to community leaders, more than 3,000 Yazidis remain unaccounted for.

Among them, are Rosa’s parents, thought murdered by the militants who rolled their victims into mass graves scattered across the sides of Sinjar mountain, where thousands of Yazidis still live in tents.

The girls’ nine-year-old brother, Zinal, is also still missing. Captured and held with them in the nearby city of Tal Afar, he was later driven away to Mosul in a car full of young Yazidi boys. They haven’t heard from him since.

SEPARATED AND SOLD

Reuters could not verify all of the details given by Rosa, Bushra and some of the five older brothers they now live with in a group of tents in the tiny village of Sharya in Iraq’s Kurdistan region.

But Amin Khalat, spokesperson for Kurdish government office which helps return missing Yazidis, said Rosa and Suhayla had been taken to Syria and Turkey respectively after being held in Tal Afar and that his office had helped reunite them with their family.

Yazidi girls Suhayla, 7, and Rosa, 13, who were reunited with their family after being enslaved by Islamic State militants, walk at Sharya Camp in Duhuk, Iraq December 18, 2017. REUTERS/Ari Jalal

He said Rosa was returned from Syria by fighters from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and Suhayla by the Iraqi government which was alerted to her existence by Turkish officials who found her at a refugee camp in Turkey. Her family then recognized her photograph.

Rosa said she and her younger siblings were sold, by the Islamic State militants who attacked Sinjar, to a fighter and his family in Tal Afar, a city of predominantly ethnic Turkmen which produced some of the group’s most senior commanders.

She said she did all the household chores and cared for her siblings and other young Yazidi captives, who lived together in a tiny room.

After a year together, Zinal was taken to Mosul, while Suhayla and Bushra were sold off to separate Islamic State families, close to one another, but not allowed to meet. After Bushra’s captors took her to Rosa’s house for a visit, she said she memorized the route so she could return.

“I would wait till everyone fell asleep in the afternoon, I’d pretend to fall asleep and then sneak out to see Rosa,” said Bushra. “They once caught me and threatened to sell me off if I didn’t stop seeing my sister but I didn’t care.”

Bushra said she was eventually sold again, but about a year ago, she and six older Yazidi girls ran away and reached Sinjar, where Kurdish fighters helped them find their families.

Rosa was taken to Deir Ezzor, Syria and sold twice more. She said she was originally bought for $4 in Tal Afar and last sold in Syria for $60. “Those dogs made quite a good profit out of me,” she said with a wry smile. PKK fighters came across her in Idlib and brought her back to Iraq and her family, she said.

Suhayla was taken by her Turkmen captors to a refugee camp in Turkey, where authorities discovered her situation and repatriated her. She was reunited with her sisters and other relatives on Sunday, a day after Rosa returned.

A general view of Sharya Camp, where Yazidi girls (back) who were reunited with their family after being enslaved by Islamic State militants reside in Duhuk, Iraq December 18, 2017. REUTERS/Ari Jalal

Beaten, forced to convert and forget their native Kurdish, the girls even had their names changed.

Rosa was known as Noor – hers was an infidel’s name, her captors told her. Suhayla, captured when she was three, barely recognizes her sisters and speaks in broken Turkman dialect and Arabic.

“She has to learn to remember us again,” said Rosa. “She got used to calling some strangers mum and grandpa while she was held captive.”

Her sisters say Suhayla has barely spoken since returning to her family, but wearing a pink sweater and plastic jewelry, she relaxed under a flood of kisses from her sisters.

Bushra, nine when she was captured, is only at ease with her closest relatives. Because she returned to the family first, her brothers have asked her to help her sisters, but she warned them that it would not be easy.

“It’s true we are strong, we’ve been through so much. But our hearts are weak – they’re broken.”

(Reporting by Raya Jalabi; editing by Philippa Fletcher)

Iraqi PM Abadi declares victory over Islamic State in Tal Afar: statement

Members of Iraqi army are seen during the war between Iraqi army and Shi'ite Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) against the Islamic State militants in al-Ayadiya, northwest of Tal Afar, Iraq August 28, 2017. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani

By Raya Jalabi and Ahmed Rasheed

ERBIL/BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared victory over Islamic State militants in Tal Afar and the entire province of Nineveh on Thursday.

Tal Afar became the next target of the U.S.-backed war on the jihadist group following the recapture of Mosul, where it had declared its “caliphate” over parts of Iraq and Syria in 2014. Mosul is the capital of Nineveh province.

“Tal Afar has been liberated,” Abadi said in a statement. “We say to the Islamic State fighters: wherever you are, we are coming for you and you have no choice but to surrender or die.”

Iraqi forces had been waiting to clear the small town of al-‘Ayadiya, 11 km (7 miles) northwest of Tal Afar, before declaring complete victory in the offensive. Islamic State militants had retreated to the town.

Divisions from the Iraqi army and federal police, backed by units from Shi’ite paramilitaries, retook al-‘Ayadiya on Thursday, military officers told Reuters, after several days of unexpectedly fierce fighting.

However, pockets of resistance remained and Iraqi forces were still working to clear the remaining militants from the town.

“We have to make sure that no more terrorists remain hiding inside the town’s houses,” army Lieutenant Colonel Salah Kareem told Reuters.

Hundreds of additional troops were sent into al-’Ayadiya on Wednesday, as Iraqi forces came under increasing pressure to clear Islamic State fighters from their final position in the group’s former stronghold.

Iraqi forces had faced an unexpectedly tough battle in al-‘Ayadiya, fighting house-to-house in the center of town.

They had come under pressure from top commanders to finish the offensive before the start of the Muslim holiday of Eid, which begins on Thursday evening.

No militants had been allowed to escape from al-‘Ayadiya, Abadi said in his statement.

Up to 2,000 battle-hardened militants were believed to be defending Tal Afar against around 50,000 government troops last week. It was unclear how many rertreated to al-’Ayadiya.

Mosul was flattened in nine months of grinding urban warfare before it was recaptured in July.

Its recapture in July effectively marked the end of the caliphate, but the group remains in control of territory on both sides of the Syrian-Iraqi border.

“We pledge to you, our people, that we will continue to liberate every inch of Iraq,” Abadi said in his statement.

(Reporting by Raya Jalabi and Ahmed Rasheed; Editing by Alison Williams)

‘Gates of Hell’: Iraqi army says fighting near Tal Afar worse than Mosul

By Ahmed Rasheed

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraqi forces battling to retake the small town of al-‘Ayadiya where militants fleeing Tal Afar have entrenched themselves, saying on Tuesday the fighting is “multiple times worse” than the battle for Mosul’s old city.

Hundreds of battle-hardened fighters were positioned inside most houses and high buildings inside the town, making it difficult for government forces to make any progress, army officers told Reuters.

Iraqi government troops captured the town of Mosul from Islamic State in June, but only after eight months of grinding urban warfare.

But one Iraqi officer, Colonel Kareem al-Lami, described breaching the militants’ first line of defense in al-‘Ayadiya as like opening “the gates of hell”.

Iraqi forces have in recent days recaptured almost all of the northwestern city of Tal Afar, long a stronghold of Islamic State. They have been waiting to take al-’Ayadiya, just 11 km (7 miles) northwest of the city, before declaring complete victory.

Tough resistance from the militants in al-‘Ayadiya has forced the Iraqi forces to increase the number of air strikes, as well as bring in reinforcements from the federal police to boost units from the army, air force, Federal Police, the elite U.S.-trained Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) and some units from the Shi’ite Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF).

Up to 2,000 battle-hardened militants were believed to be defending Tal Afar against around 50,000 government troops last week.

Military intelligence indicated that many militants fled Tal Afar to mount a staunch defense in al-‘Ayadiya. Many motorcycles carrying the Islamic State insignia were seen abandoned at the side of the road outside al-’Ayadiya.

Though the exact numbers of militants on the ground in al-‘Ayadiya was still unclear, al-Lami, the Iraqi Army colonel, estimated they were in their “hundreds.”

“Daesh (Islamic State) fighters in their hundreds are taking positions inside almost every single house in the town,” he said.

Sniper shots, mortars, heavy machine guns and anti-armored projectiles were fired from every single house, he added.

“We thought the battle for Mosul’s Old City was tough, but this one proved to be multiple times worst,” al-Lami said. “We are facing tough fighters who have nothing to lose and are ready to die.”

Two army officers told Reuters that no significant advances had yet been made in al-‘Ayadiya. They said they were waiting for artillery and air strikes to undermine the militants power.

The extra Federal Police troops that were called in said late on Tuesday that they had controlled 50 percent of the town, deploying snipers on the high buildings and intensified shelling the militants headquarters with rockets, a federal police spokesman said in a statement.

Tal Afar became the next target of the U.S.-backed war on the jihadist group following the recapture of Mosul, where it had declared its “caliphate” over parts of Iraq and Syria in 2014.

(Reporting by Ahmed Rasheed Editing by Jeremy Gaunt)

Iraqi forces face tough resistance from IS in final Tal Afar battle

Members of Iraqi Army fire mortar shells during the war between Iraqi army and Shi'ite Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) against the Islamic State militants in al-Ayadiya, northwest of Tal Afar, Iraq August 28, 2017. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani

By Thaier Al-Sudani, Kawa Omar and Ahmed Rasheed

AL-‘AYADIYA/BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraqi forces said they faced tough resistance on Monday from Islamic State fighters driven out of the city of Tal Afar to a small town where they had “nothing to lose” by fighting to the end.

An advance by the Iraqi army and Shi’ite paramilitary groups into al-‘Ayadiya was being slowed by snipers, booby-traps and roadside bombs, military officials told Reuters.

“The offensive started from two fronts in a bid to distract Daesh fighters,” army Lieutenant Colonel Salah Kareem said, using the Arabic acronym for Islamic State.

“A total of four suicide bombers driving vehicles rigged with explosives attacked our troops under sniper cover. We had to slow down to avoid high casualty rates among our soldiers.”

Iraqi forces have in recent days recaptured almost all of the northwestern city of Tal Afar, long a stronghold of Islamic State. They have been waiting to take al-’Ayadiya, 11 km (7 miles) northwest of the city, before declaring complete victory.

“Our intelligence shows that the most diehard Daesh fighters fled Tal Afar to al-‘Ayadiya,” Kareem said.

He said continuous air strikes and round-the-clock drone surveillance had prevented them fleeing to neighboring Syria.

“They have nothing to lose … they will fight to the last breath,” Kareem said.

Islamic State mortar rounds and sniper fire struck close to the advancing forces. The army hit back with tanks, heavy machineguns and mortars.

Up to 2,000 battle-hardened militants were believed to be defending Tal Afar against around 50,000 government troops last week. It was unclear how many were left in al-‘Ayadiya.

Many motorcycles carrying the Islamic State insignia had been abandoned at the side of the road outside al-‘Ayadiya.

CALIPHATE IN RUINS

If the fight for the town is proving surprisingly tough, the bigger battle for Tal Afar was easier than expected for Iraqi forces.

The city’s dramatic and rapid collapse after just eight days of fighting lent support to Iraqi military reports that the militants lack sturdy command and control structures west of Mosul.

Civilians who fled Tal Afar in recent weeks told Reuters of harrowing conditions in the city, where people had been surviving on bread and dirty water for months. Some militants had looked “exhausted” and “depleted”, residents said.

Tens of thousands of people are believed to have fled in the weeks before the battle started. A Reuters team saw no sign of civilians in the neighborhoods it toured on Saturday and Sunday.

Tal Afar became the next target of the U.S.-backed war on the jihadist group following the recapture in July of Mosul, where it had declared its “caliphate” over parts of Iraq and Syria in 2014.

Mosul’s collapse effectively marked the end of the caliphate, but the group remains in control of territory on both sides of the Syrian-Iraqi border.

(Writing by Raya Jalabi; editing by Andrew Roche)

Islamic State’s stronghold Tal Afar about to fall: Iraqi military

Smoke rises during clashes between the Iraqi army with Shi'ite Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) and the Islamic State militants in Tal Afar, Iraq August 26, 2017. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani

By Thaier Al-Sudani and Kawa Omar

TAL AFAR, Iraq (Reuters) – Iraqi forces are about to take full control of Tal Afar, Islamic State’s stronghold in northwestern Iraq, in a swift campaign against the outnumbered, exhausted militants, an Iraqi military spokesman said on Saturday.

The quick collapse of Islamic State in Tal Afar, a breeding ground for jihadist groups in Iraq, confirmed Iraqi military reports that the militants lack command and control structures in the areas west of Mosul.

Up to 2,000 militants were believed to be defending Tal Afar when the U.S.-backed campaign to take back the city started on Aug. 20. The attacking forces were estimated at 50,000, according to western military sources.

“Tal Afar city is about to fall completely into the hands of our forces, only five percent remains” under Islamic State’s control, a military spokesman told Reuters.

“God willing, the remaining part will be liberated soon,” Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari said earlier at a news conference with his French counterpart, Jean-Yves Le Drian, and French Defence Minister Florence Parly, in Baghdad.

Tal Afar lies on the supply route between Syria and the former Islamic State stronghold of Mosul, 80 km (50 miles) to the east.

The elite Counter Terrorism Service “liberated the citadel neighborhood .. and raised the Iraqi flag on top of the citadel building,” a statement from the Iraqi joint operations command said.

Much of the Ottoman-era citadel itself was destroyed by the militants at the end of 2014.

The city has produced some of the militant group’s most senior commanders. It experienced cycles of sectarian violence between Sunnis and Shi’ites after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Tal Afar, which had a pre-war population of about 200,000, is the latest objective in the U.S.-backed war on Islamic State following the recapture of Mosul after a nine-month campaign that left much of the city, the biggest in northern Iraq, in ruins.

The fall of Mosul in effect marked the end of the self-proclaimed “caliphate” Islamic State declared over parts of Syria and Iraq in 2014. Tal Afar was cut off from the rest of IS-held territory in June.

The number of civilians believed to have remained in the city at the start of the offensive was estimated at between 10,000 and 20,000 by the U.S. military.

As in the battle for Mosul, civilians are suffering badly.

Waves of residents fled the city in the weeks before the battle started. Those remaining were threatened with death by the militants, who held had a tight grip there since 2014, according to aid organizations and residents who managed to flee.

On Tuesday, the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR said those who had fled were suffering from dehydration and exhaustion, having lived on bread and dirty water for three to four months.

People were arriving at camps for displaced people with wounds from sniper fire and mine explosions.

(Writing by Maher Chmaytelli; Editing by Andrew Bolton)

Iraqi forces make fresh gains in Tal Afar offensive

Shi'ite Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) gather with Iraqi army on the outskirts of Tal Afar, Iraq, August 22, 2017. REUTERS/Stringer

By Reuters Staff

ERBIL, Iraq (Reuters) – Iraqi forces made further gains in their offensive to dislodge Islamic State from Tal Afar, seizing five more villages on the eastern and southern outskirts of the city, the military said on Thursday.

In the fifth day of their onslaught, Iraqi forces continued to encircle jihadists holding out in the city in far northwestern Iraq close to the Syrian border, according to statements from the Iraqi joint operations command.

Within the city limits, Iraqi forces captured three more neighborhoods – al-Nour and al-Mo’allameen in the east and al-Wahda in the west, taking over several strategic buildings in the process.

The advances were the latest in the campaign to rout the militants from one of their last remaining strongholds in Iraq, three years after they seized wide swathes of the north and west in a shock offensive. On Tuesday, the army and counter-terrorism units broke into Tal Afar from the east and south.

The main forces taking part in the offensive are the Iraqi army, air force, Federal Police, the elite U.S.-trained Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) and some units from the Shi’ite Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) that began encircling the city on Sunday.

About three quarters of Tal Afar remains under militant control including the Ottoman-era citadel at its center, according to an operational map published by the Iraqi military.

Located 80 km (50 miles) west of Mosul, Tal Afar lies along the supply route between that city – which Iraqi forces retook from IS in July after nine months of fighting – and Syria.

Tal Afar has produced some of IS’s most senior commanders and was cut off from the rest of IS-held territory in June.

Up to 2,000 battle-hardened militants remain in Tal Afar, according to U.S. and Iraqi military commanders. Between 10,000 and 40,000 civilians are estimated to remain in the city and its surrounding villages.

(Reporting by Raya Jalabi; editing by Mark Heinrich)

Troops make progress in Tal Afar battle as U.S. defense secretary visits Iraq

Shi'ite Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) with Iraqi army gather on the outskirts of Tal Afar.

By Idrees Ali and Raya Jalabi

BAGHDAD/ERBIL, Iraq (Reuters) – Government forces breached the city limits of Tal Afar in northwestern Iraq on Tuesday on the third day of a U.S.-backed offensive to seize it back from Islamic State militants.

Tal Afar, a longtime Islamic State stronghold, is the latest objective in the war following the recapture of Mosul after a nine-month campaign that left much of that city in ruins.

U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, speaking just before arriving in Iraq on Tuesday, said the fight against IS was far from over despite recent successes by the Western-backed government. The Sunni Muslim jihadists remain in control of territory in western Iraq and eastern Syria.

On Tuesday, however, army and counter-terrorism units broke into Tal Afar from the eastern and southern sides, the Iraqi joint operations command said.

About three quarters of the city remain under militant control, including the Ottoman-era citadel in its center, according to an operational map published by the Iraqi military.

The main forces involved are the Iraqi army, air force, Federal Police, the U.S.-trained Counter Terrorism Service (CTS), as well as units from the Shi’ite Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), who began encircling the city on Sunday.

Located 80 km (50 miles) west of Mosul, Tal Afar is strategic as it lies along the supply route between Mosul and Syria. It has produced some of IS’s most senior commanders and was cut off from the rest of IS-held territory in June.

Up to 2,000 battle-hardened militants remain in Tal Afar, according to U.S. and Iraqi military commanders.

“ISIS’ days are certainly numbered, but it is not over yet and it is not going to be over anytime soon,” Mattis told reporters in Amman.

CIVILIANS PLIGHT

As was the case with the battle for Mosul, aid organizations groups are concerned about the plight of civilians in Tal Afar.

U.S. Brigadier General Andrew Croft, chief of coalition air operations over Iraq, said between 10,000 and 20,000 civilians remained in Tal Afar. Up to 20,000 are thought to remain in the surrounding areas, but aid agencies say these are just estimates as they have been without access to Tal Afar since 2014.

Waves of civilians have fled the city and villages under cover of darkness over the past few weeks. Those remaining are threatened with death by the militants, who have held a tight grip there since 2014. About 30,000 have fled Tal Afar since April, according to the United Nations.

In Geneva, the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR said those fleeing this week were suffering from dehydration and exhaustion, having lived off unclean water and bread for the past three to four months.

“Many talk of seeing dead bodies along the way, and there are reports that some were killed by extremist groups,” UNHCR spokesman Andrej Mahecic said. “Others appear to have died due to dehydration or illnesses.”

People were also arriving at camps with wounds from sniper fire and exploding mines, he said.

Several thousand civilians are believed to have been killed in the battle for Mosul, where Islamic State tried to keep them in areas it controlled to act as human shields against air strikes and artillery bombardments.

Defense Secretary Mattis met Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and Defence Minister Arfan al-Hayali in Baghdad to discuss the role of U.S. forces in Iraq after the recapture of the remaining cities under Islamic State.

”There are plans under consideration… that will look at residual presence in the future,” Lt. General Steve Townsend, the U.S.-led coalition’s commanding general, told reporters in a joint press briefing with Mattis.

Croft said that over the past two or three months, he had seen a fracturing in the Islamic State leadership.

“It just seems less coordinated. It appears more fractured, less robust, and sort of flimsy, is the word I would use… it is sporadic,” Croft told reporters.

Islamic State leaders fled Mosul during the fighting there and the whereabouts of its chief, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, are unknown. Unconfirmed reports in the past few months have said he is dead.

U.S. officials said that while big cities like Mosul have largely been cleared of Islamic State militants, there were concerns about the ability of Iraqi forces to hold territory.

Pockets of resistance remained in west Mosul, including sleeper cells, Mattis said.

Islamic State is also on the back foot in Syria, where Kurdish and Arab militias backed by the U.S.-led coalition have captured swathes of its territory in the north and are assaulting its main Syrian stronghold of Raqqa.

McGurk said about 2,000 Islamic State fighters remained in Raqqa and as much as 60 percent of the city had been retaken.

The jihadist group is now falling back deeper into the Euphrates valley region of eastern Syria.

Mattis said the next step for forces fighting Islamic State in Syria would be a move against the middle Euphrates valley, a reference to the militants’ stronghold in Deir al-Zor province southeast of Raqqa.

KURDISH REFERENDUM

A U.S. official also said Mattis would press Massoud Barzani, president of the autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government, to call off a planned referendum on independence.

Iraq’s Kurds have said they will hold the referendum on Sept. 25 despite concerns from Iraq’s neighbors who have Kurdish minorities within their borders and a U.S. request to postpone it.

However, a senior Kurdish official said the Kurds may consider the possibility of a delay in return for financial and political concessions from the central government in Baghdad.

The United States and other Western nations fear the vote could ignite a new conflict with Baghdad and possibly neighboring countries, diverting attention from the ongoing war against Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria.

For a graphic on the map of Iraq conflict, click: http://apac1.proxy.cp.extranet.thomsonreuters.biz/fingfx/gfx/rngs/1/1696/2934/MIDEAST-CRISIS-IRAQ-BLAST.jpg

(Additional reporting by Maher Chmaytelli in Erbil, Editing by Angus MacSwan)

U.S. defense secretary in Iraq as troops battle for Tal Afar

FILE PHOTO: U.S. Secretary of Defence Jim Mattis gives a news conference after a NATO defence ministers meeting at the Alliance headquarters in Brussels, Belgium on June 29, 2017. REUTERS/Eric Vidal/File Photo

By Idrees Ali

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis visited Iraq on Tuesday just days after the start of an offensive to oust Islamic State from the city of Tal Afar, with talks focused on backing Iraqi efforts to stabilize areas recaptured from the militant group.

Prior to arriving, Mattis said the fight against Islamic State was far from over despite recent successes by Western-backed Iraqi government forces. The battle for Tal Afar would be difficult, U.S. officials said.

Iraqi security forces opened the offensive to take back Tal Afar on Sunday, their latest objective in the war following the recapture of Mosul after a nine-month campaign that left much of the city in ruins.

Lying 80 km (50 miles) west of Mosul in Iraq’s far north, Tal Afar is a long-time stronghold of the hardline Sunni Muslim insurgents,

“ISIS’ days are certainly numbered, but it is not over yet and it is not going to be over anytime soon,” Mattis told reporters in Amman.

Mattis said that after retaking Tal Afar, Iraqi forces would move against the western Euphrates River valley.

Brigadier General Andrew Croft, responsible for coalition air operations over Iraq, said that between 10,000 and 20,000 civilians remained in Tal Afar. The plight of civilians was a big factor in the battle of Mosul as Islamic State tried to keep them areas it controlled to act as human shields against air strikes and artillery bombardments. Several thousand are believed to have been killed.

Croft said that over the past two or three months, he had seen a fracturing in Islamic State leadership.

“It just seems less coordinated. It appears more fractured, less robust, and sort of flimsy, is the word I would use… it is sporadic,” Croft told reporters.

Islamic State leaders fled Mosul during the fighting there and the whereabouts of its chief, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, are unknown. Unconfirmed reports in the past few months have said he is dead.

Brett McGurk, U.S. special envoy to the coalition, said that while the battle for Tal Afar would be difficult, Iraqi forces had retaken 235 square km (90 miles) in the first 24 hours.

U.S. officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Mattis, who will meet Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and Defence Minister Arfan al-Hayali, will discuss the future of U.S. forces in Iraq after the recapture of the remaining cities under Islamic State, and the role they could play in stabilizing operations.

The officials said that while big cities like Mosul have been largely been cleared of Islamic State militants, there were concerns about the ability of Iraqi forces to hold territory.

Mattis said pockets of resistance remained in west Mosul, including sleeper cells. Iraqi security forces were capable of carrying out simultaneous operations, he added.

McGurk said about 2,000 Islamic State fighters remained in Raqqa and as much as 60 percent of the city had been retaken.

The jihadist group is now falling back deeper into the Euphrates valley region of eastern Syria.

KURDISH REFERENDUM

A U.S. official also said Mattis would press Massoud Barzani, president of the autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government, to call off a planned referendum on independence.

Iraq’s Kurds have said they will hold the referendum on Sept. 25 despite concerns from Iraq’s neighbors who have Kurdish minorities within their borders and a U.S. request to postpone it.

However, a senior Kurdish official said the Kurds may consider the possibility of a postponement in return for financial and political concessions from the central government in Baghdad.

McGurk said the Kurdish delegation’s recent visit to Baghdad was encouraging.

The Pentagon signed an agreement with Peshmerga forces last year to provide hundreds of millions of dollars in weapons and equipment.

The U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that the memorandum of understanding would expire soon and suggested that Mattis could use it as a bargaining chip.

(Reporting by Idrees Ali, Editing by Angus MacSwan)

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