TAL AFAR, Iraq — Damaged aircraft hangars and twisted metal are scattered across Tal Afar airport, to the south of the city, and tunnels have been dug in several locations. Graffiti praising the Islamic State (IS) and posters of martyrs and Shiite religious figures are plastered on the walls of the airport buildings.
On Nov. 16, the mostly Shiite Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) took the destroyed air base from IS and pushed on to seal off Mosul, meeting up with the peshmerga forces on the northern axis on Nov. 23 and agreeing to coordinate with them on that front.