US forces shell Daesh positions in Iraq’s Tal Afar

U.S. forces are taking part in an ongoing military operation to dislodge the Daesh terrorist group from Iraq’s northwestern Tal Afar district, according to an Iraqi military source.

“U.S. forces stationed at the Kahrez base are pounding Daesh positions inside the city,” Army Captain Ihab al-Yasseri told Anadolu Agency on Monday.

Without providing an exact death toll, al-Yasseri said that a number of Daesh militants had been killed and injured by the artillery barrages.

“U.S.-led coalition drones are also flying over the area to collect information on enemy dispositions,” he said.

According to the army officer, U.S. military advisers are also providing logistical and tactical support to the Iraqi forces taking part in the offensive.

More than 5,000 U.S. troops are currently participating in the ongoing fight against Daesh in Iraq, according to statements issued by the Pentagon.

The Iraqi government, for its part, says U.S. soldiers are not taking part in the fighting and are only collecting and sharing intelligence and providing Iraq with logistical support.

On Sunday, the Iraqi army launched a widely-anticipated offensive to recapture Tal Afar from Daesh.

The army says its forces have managed to capture several villages on the outskirts of the predominantly Turkmen district, which was overrun by Daesh in mid-2014 along with vast territories in northern and western Iraq.

The UN estimates that between 10,000 and 40,000 civilians are still living in Tal Afar and surrounding areas.

Daesh’s self-proclaimed “caliphate” collapsed last month when the Iraqi army recaptured the northern city Mosul after a nine-month campaign.