Joint Operations Command denies beginning of Tal Afar battle

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) The Joint Operations Command has denied news on beginning of liberation battle of Islamic State-held town of Tal Afar, saying troops still await orders of the army’s command.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Joint Operations Command said the plans of Tal Afar liberation operations were set, adding that all Iraqi troops are involved.

“The battle has not started yet. We await commands by the Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi to declare the zero-hour,” it said indicating arrangement and strikes against IS militants to target its headquarters, weapon stashes and booby-trapping workshops.

“The strikes should be based on intelligence information from the Iraqi air force,” according to the statement, which urged media channels to stick to news from the command only.

Defence Ministry spokesman Mohammed al-Khodari was quoted earlier on Tuesday as saying that the ground attack should start after the aerial bombardment campaign.

News reports said 12 militants,including prominent leaders, were killed as U.S.-led coalition launched air raids against the group’s locations in the town.

Six powerful blasts occurred as fighter jets targeted explosives workshop, AlSumaria News reported.

Tal Afar is one of the important strongholds still held by IS in Nineveh since August 2014, when the militants occupied a third of Iraq to proclaim its self-styled “caliphate”.