PM Haider al-Abadi announces ground operation to retake the northern city, telling ISIL fighters 'surrender, or die'

AVA- Iraqi forces have launched a ground offensive to retake a key ISIL-held area in the northern part of the country, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said.

"You either surrender, or die", Abadi said in a televised speech announcing the operation early on Sunday.

He was addressing Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) fighters, who have been in control of the city since 2014.

Tal Afar and the surrounding area are among the last pockets of ISIL-held territory in Iraq, after victory was declared in Mosul, the country's second-largest city.

Al Jazeera's Osama Bin Javaid, reporting from Erbil, said that while the ground offensive has just been announced, "the operation has really been underway for the last few weeks".

US-led coalition air strikes have been started targeting ISIL fighters in the city, just one month after securing victory in Mosul.

"In the last 48 hours, they've picked up that activity and destroyed a number of ISIL targets," Bin Javaid said.