Thousands flee Tal Afar: UN

Iraqi forces yesterday recaptured from the Islamic State group the first two districts of jihadist bastion Tal Afar, as the Pentagon chief visited Baghdad in a show of support.

The United Nations said thousands of civilians have fled Tal Afar in the two days since the start of the broad offensive backed by the US-led coalition fighting IS.

In remarks before meeting in Baghdad with Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis said he wanted to keep the spotlight on eradicating the jihadists.

"Right now our focus is on defeating ISIS inside Iraq, restoring Iraqi sovereignty and territorial integrity," said the Pentagon chief, using an alternative acronym for IS.

Iraqi troops, supported by the forces of a US-led international coalition, routed IS in Mosul in July after a gruelling nine-month fight for Iraq's second city.

They launched the offensive on Sunday to recapture Tal Afar, once a key IS supply hub between Mosul -- around 70 kilometres (45 miles) to the east -- and the Syrian border.

The jihadists inside Tal Afar, estimated to number around 1,000, responded with artillery fire yesterday as the Iraqi forces massed outside the city, reported AFP.

Army, police and units of the Hashed al-Shaabi paramilitary coalition later took "full control" of Al-Kifah and Al-Nur districts in Tal Afar, the Hashed said.

The Iraqi forces had encircled the city despite what Hashed spokesman Ahmed al-Assadi described as "intense" fighting. He said the fighting for the city would likely last weeks.

The International Organization for Migration said its teams were "responding to thousands of civilians fleeing Tal Afar since the launch of the military campaign".

Since Friday, more than 3,000 people had arrived at two IOM emergency sites, many with just the clothes on their back, said the UN agency.

The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said it had received some 9,000 people at the Hamman Al Alil transit centre in the past week, and it was preparing to accommodate nearly 30,000 more.

Mattis declined to make any predictions on the battle.

"ISIS's days are certainly numbered, but it's not over yet and it's not going to be over anytime soon," he said.

Iraqi forces had "fought like the dickens in Mosul, (it) cost them over 6,000 wounded, somewhere over 1,200 killed," he noted.

A US official also said Mattis would press Massoud Barzani, president of the autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government, to call off a planned referendum on independence, reported Reuters.

Iraq's Kurds have said they will hold the referendum on Sept. 25 despite concerns from Iraq's neighbors who have Kurdish minorities within their borders and a US request to postpone it.