Iraq army launches anti-ISIL assault in Tal Afar

Thousands of civilians are leaving the Iraqi city of Tal Afar as the army tries to retake it from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group.

Iraqi ground forces backed by a US-led coalition have surrounded the area.

Shia militias are moving in from the south, and Kurdish Peshmerga fighters are entering from the north.

Around 2,000 ISIL fighters are believed to be in the city.

Al Jazeera’s Osama Bin Javaid reports from Erbil.