Iraqi PM: Iraqi forces begin operation to retake Tal Afar from IS

BAGHDAD – US-backed Iraqi security forces began a multi-pronged military operation Sunday to retake the town of Tal Afar, west of Mosul, from the Islamic State group, Iraq's prime minister announced.

Tal Afar and the surrounding area is one of the last pockets of IS-held territory in Iraq after victory was declared in July in Mosul, the country's second-largest city. The town, about 150 kilometers (93 miles) east of the Syrian border, sits along a major road that was once a key IS supply route.

"The city of Tal Afar will be liberated and will join all the liberated cities," Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said in a televised speech to the nation broadcast on state television early Sunday. He was dressed in a black uniform of the type worn by Iraqi Special Forces.

Al-Abadi said his message to IS was: "You either surrender or die."