Paramilitary official says troops not to take part in Tal Afar battle
Military spokesman of the movement of Asaib of Ahl Al-Haq, Jawad Tlabawi
“Al-Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Units) will not participate in the Tal Afar liberation battle due to local and international pressures,” Jawad al-Tulaibawi, a leader within the PMUs, said adding that “Based on a request from Masoud Barzani [president of Kurdistan], U.S. expressed refusal toward the troops participation.”
Tulaibawi expressed astonishment regarding “international intervention in liberation of land from Islamic State,” considering this as intervention into Iraq’s sovereignty, which pours into terrorism’s interests and encourages Barzani to dominate lands in Nineveh to be included into the Kurdistan Region’s land.”
In May, Jawad al-Tulaibawi, PMU official, revealed Abadi’s refusal of the troops participation in Tal Afar liberation.
The international coalition, led by the U.S. launch air raids in and around the town in order to facilitate the battle for Iraqi troops, which announced earlier this week concluding arrangements ahead of the invasion.
On Tuesday, the Iraqi army’s ninth armored division reportedly arrived to boundaries of the town. An army official was quoted on Monday as saying that an army division was ordered to leave Mosul toward Tal Afar within preparations to retake the town, which has been set as the next target of operations after victory was declared in Mosul on July 10.