Baghdad: Iraq declared on Thursday that its forces had retaken the northern city of Tal Afar and the surrounding region in another major victory over ISIS. Tal Afar was the last major population centre in northern Iraq still under jehadist control and its loss deprives IS of what was once a key supply hub between its territory in Syria and Iraq. “Our happiness is complete, victory has arrived and the province of Nineveh is now entirely in the hands of our forces,” said a statement from the office of Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi.