CHAIRMAN: DR. KHALID BIN THANI AL THANI
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: PROF. KHALID MUBARAK AL-SHAFI

World / Middle East

Pentagon chief in Baghdad as Iraqi forces press Tal Afar assault

Published: 22 Aug 2017 - 08:56 am | Last Updated: 09 Nov 2021 - 04:41 pm
Photo: AFP.

Photo: AFP.

AFP

Baghdad: US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis arrived Tuesday in Baghdad on an unannounced visit as Iraqi forces pressed an assault on Tal Afar, the Islamic State group's last major bastion in the country's north.

Mattis flew in for talks with Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and other top officials, as well as Massud Barzani, president of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region, saying he wants to help keep the regime focused on eradicating IS jihadists.