Battle of Tal Afar (2017)

Battle of Tal Afar (2017)
Part of the War in Iraq (2013–2017) and
the American-led intervention in Iraq
Date20 August – 2 September 2017
(1 week and 6 days)
Location
Result

Iraqi victory

  • Iraqi forces capture Tal Afar city on 28 August
  • Iraqi forces capture Mahalabiyah and Ayadhiyah by 2 September
Belligerents
 Iraq
Supported by:
CJTF–OIR
 Iraqi Kurdistan
 Islamic State
Commanders and leaders
Lt. Gen. Abdel Emir Yarallah Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi
(Leader of IS)
Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi
Abu Qatada al-Afri 
Units involved

Iraqi Security Forces

Military of the Islamic State
Strength

60,000+ fighters

  • 40,000+ Iraqi soldiers
  • 20,000 paramilitaries
1,500–2,000 militants (per Iraq and US)
Casualties and losses
115 killed, 679 wounded 2,000+ killed (Iraqi claim)
212 captured
1,000–1,200 killed (U.S. claim)
Dozens of civilians killed and 40,758 civilians displaced

The Battle of Tal Afar was an offensive announced on 20 August 2017 by Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi in order to liberate the Tal Afar region from the Islamic State (IS). Victory in the battle was declared by the Prime Minister al-Abadi following the capture of the last IS-held area in Tal Afar district.

The offensive was concurrent with the Raqqa campaign conducted by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) against IS's capital city and stronghold in Syria, as well as the Central Syria Campaign, by the Syrian Arab Army to capture IS territory towards Deir ez-Zor.