Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Abadi on Wednesday pledged to liberate both the city of Tal Afar and Al-Hawija district from the Islamic State (Daesh) terrorist group in the same resolute manner in which the liberation of Mosul was conducted.
Tal Afar is located in the Nineveh Province close to Mosul and the border with Syria. Al-Hawija is located in Kirkuk Province. In May, a source in the Kirkuk province security services told Sputnik that Daeshhad relocated its headquarters from Mosul to Hawija city.
"For us as Iraqis, it is an honor to destroy the Daesh and we will continue liberating the remaining districts in Tal Afar, Hawija and in the west of the Anbar province with the same strength and determination," Abadi said at a meeting of the coordination committee of Iraqi provinces, as quoted by his press service.
On July 9, Abadi officially announced that Iraqi security forces had finally liberated Mosul, the second largest Iraqi city, after months of fighting against Daesh.
The Daesh terrorist group took over Mosul in June 2014. The operation aimed at liberating the city from terrorists began in October 2016. The eastern part of the city was rid of terrorists by Iraqi and US-led coalition forces in late January.
SPUTNIK/MNA