EghtesadOnline: U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis arrived in Iraq on Tuesday, just days after the start of an offensive to take back the city of Tal Afar , to speak with Iraqi leaders about the next steps in the fight against Islamic State.

EghtesadOnline: Iraq's military said Saturday it has driven Islamic State militants out of 90 percent of the northern town of Tal Afar and retaken the town center.

EghtesadOnline: Iraqi forces are about to take full control of Tal Afar , Islamic State’s stronghold in northwestern Iraq, in a swift campaign against the outnumbered, exhausted militants, an Iraqi military spokesman said on Saturday.

EghtesadOnline: Iraqi security forces launched on Sunday an offensive to take back the city of Tal Afar , their next objective in the U.S.-backed campaign to defeat Islamic State militants, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said.

EghtesadOnline: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey was aiming to reinforce its troops deployments in its Iraqi border town of Silopi and that it would have a "different response" for Shi'ite militia groups if they cause terror in the Iraqi city of Tal Afar .