Coalition Steps Up Airstrikes Ahead Of Offensive Against Islamic State

Coalition and Iraqi forces have stepped up air strikes on Islamic State (IS) targets in the town of Tal Afar ahead of a planned offensive.

The intensifying strikes come as Iraqi forces slowly close in on the IS-held town west of Mosul, forcing thousands of civilians to flee in anticipation of the ground offensive.

Iraq’s air force commander has announced that a series of air strikes this week has targeted IS group headquarters, tunnels and weapons stores.

The area around Tal Afar is one of the last pockets of IS-held territory in Iraq after Mosul was re-taken by Iraqi forces in July.

But the Iraq military, closely backed by the US-led coalition, is not expected to push into the town for another few weeks, according to an officer overseeing the operation.

Iraqi army, federal police and special forces units are expected to participate in the operation.

The spokesman for Iraq's government-sanctioned Shi'ite militias - known as the Popular Mobilisation Forces, said they will also be taking part in the battle.

However, some Turkish officials are concerned that once territory is liberated from IS, Iraqi Kurdish or Shi'ite forces may push out Sunni Arabs or ethnic Turkmen.

Since April, the United Nations says some 49,000 people have fled the Tal Afar district.

Families who have escaped across front lines describe dire humanitarian conditions inside the town, with water and food supplies dwindling.

According to the UN, over the course of the nine-month operation to retake Mosul and surrounding villages, nearly a million people were displaced.