Peshmerga Commander Şex Cafer spoke to ANF and stated that: “The front positions of ISIS have been smashed during the operation launched around Mosul. It was a significant phase in the Mosul operation to break this line.”

Cafer remarked that the Tal Afar operation was the second phase after the Mosul operation, adding: “Tal Afar operation was not meant to begin before the Mosul operation ended. The decision was to launch Tal Afar together with Hashd al-Shaabi once the Mosul operation was finalized but this decision has been altered.”