(video) Iraq begins battle to liberate Tal Afar, Daesh bastion near Mosul

Tal Afar lies around 70 kilometers (45 miles) west of second city Mosul, which Iraqi forces released in early July in a major blow to the terrorists, AFP reported.

In a televised speech early Sunday, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, dressed in military uniform and standing in front of an Iraqi flag and map of the country, announced “the start of an operation to free Tal Afar”.

“I am saying to Daesh that there’s no choice other than to leave or be killed,” he said.

“We have won all our battles, and Daesh have always lost,” he said, telling his troops: “The entire world is with you.”

Several hours after the start of the battle, the federal police said it had retaken the village of Al-Abra al-Sghira west of Tal Afar.

Daesh terrorists in June 2014 overran Tal Afar, a Shia enclave in the predominantly Sunni province of Nineveh, on the road between Mosul and Syria.

At the time, it had a population of around 200,000. Local officials said it was impossible to know the exact number still living inside the city.

‘Victory is near’

Authorities have accused the approximately 1,000 terrorists in the city of using civilians as human shields during Iraqi and US-led coalition airstrikes earlier this week in preparation for the ground assault.

Abadi said that Iraq’s Hashed al-Shaabi paramilitary forces would help army, police and counter-terrorism units to retake Tal Afar.

The umbrella organization has already been fighting to release a number of other Iraqi cities from Daesh.

“In the early hours, the guns and flags turned towards their targets,” said Hashed spokesman Ahmed al-Assadi.

“Victory is near” in Tal Afar, an “Iraqi city taken hostage and humiliated for years by attacks from these barbarians,” he said.

Even before the Abadi’s announcement, Iraqi planes had dropped leaflets to residents in Tal Afar and its surroundings, the Hashed said in a statement.

The authorities said they had set up a radio station to keep residents informed of developments.

Daesh overran large areas north and west of Baghdad in 2014, but Iraqi forces have since regained much of the territory.

Once Tal Afar is released, Iraqi authorities intend to turn their sights south to launch a fight to retake terrorist-held Hawijah, in the province of Kirkuk, 300 kilometers (185 miles) northwest of Baghdad.

Terrorists still hold areas in Anbar, a western province that borders Syria and faces major security challenges.