Iraqi Shi'ite militia fighters said on Wednesday they had driven the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militants from an air base west of Mosul, a victory which would threaten the group's supply route from Syria to its last major stronghold in Iraq, according to Reuters.
Tal Afar lies about 60 kilometers west of Mosul on the main road to Syria.
Yusif al-Kallabi, a spokesman for a coalition of mostly Iranian-backed Shi'ite militias called the Popular Mobilization Units, reportedly told Iraqi state TV on November 16 that the air base at the town of Tal Afar had been liberated.
If confirmed, the capture of the base would be a significant development in the campaign to recapture Mosul, the last major stronghold for ISIS militants in Iraq.
Iraqi government forces, police, and allied Sunni tribesman have reputedly advanced to the southern and northern outskirts of Mosul itself, backed by Kurdish Peshmerga fighters to the north and northeast.
Iraqi Special Forces are engaged in urban combat within the city's easternmost district.
CNN reports that the Iraq Joint Military Operations Command declared six days ago that its security forces had taken full control of al Zahraa as well as two other eastern neighborhoods — al Samah and al Malayeen.
