ISIS News Today 2017: Iraqi Troops Starts to Drive Away ISIS from Tal Afar

By Shiena Bernardino, Christian Post Contributor Wednesday, August 23, 2017

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), more popularly known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), is reportedly losing their fight for the control of the country's Tal Afar city against the US-supported Iraqi forces.

Middle eastern publication Al-Jazeera revealed that the Iraqi troops that were backed by the US claim that they are already seeing signs of success in eliminating the group of ISIS soldiers that conquered the al-Jazirah area in the eastern part of Tal Afar.

According to the publication's correspondent who is based in the northern Iraqi town of Erbil, several military sources claim that the troops already started to move in from the northeastern and western sides of the city. This paved the way for them to take over the city's oil refinery as well as break into the city's walls. "Their movement was swift earlier, but now the real battle begins," the reporter also said.

The report also claims that Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi believes that the troop's progress on Tuesday can be considered a success, and describes it as an "indication of the enemy's collapse."

Because of the weakening hold of the ISIS in their territories, the deputy commander of the international coalition against the ISIS Major General Rupert Jones from the British Army reportedly revealed in a statement that the terrorist group is currently busy fighting for their survival to think of any major attacks on the Western cities.

Jones believes that the success of the Iraqi Security Forces are forcing the ISIS warriors in the Middle East to think about staying alive rather than coming up with ways to inflict chaos to different places all over the world.

"The big directive attacks, those are really difficult to orchestrate right now form Iraq and Syria," Jones stated. "Your ability to orchestrate those sort of attacks at reach is very significantly suppressed."

This could mean that the recent terror attacks in Barcelona, Spain, and Manchester, England could be self-motivated and not part of ISIS' plans to spread chaos around the world.