Coalition bombing kills ISIS governor in Tal Afar

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Warplanes from the US-led coalition have bombarded ISIS positions in the district of Tal Afar west of Mosul, killing the ISIS governor in the district, a Kurdish official told Rudaw on Sunday.

“Peshmerga forces in coordination with warplanes managed to pound several ISIS arsenals and weaponry bases on Sunday inside Tal Afar,” said  Saeed Mamuzni, media officer of the Kurdistan Democratic Party’s branch in Mosul.

He said the ISIS governor of Tal Afar, identified as Abbas Hamed, was killed along with three aides after a hit by coalition warplanes.

“After the bombardments ended the Peshmerga did not make any advance because of the geographical circumstances of the district, which has long been a fortified ISIS stronghold”  since falling to the group’s militants last year, Mamuzni said.

Earlier this month, coalition warplanes bombarded ISIS bases near the main Mosul-Tal Afar road, reportedly killing 10 of the group's militants.

Tal Afar is a city and district in Iraq’s northwestern Nineveh Province, located approximately 63 kilometers west of Mosul and about the same distance to Shingal.