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Thousands of Iraqis have fled an Islamic State-held town west of Mosul as Iraqi and coalition warplanes step up strikes ahead of a ground offensive to drive out the militants.

Tal Afar and the surrounding area is one of the last pockets of IS-held territory in Iraq after victory was declared in July in Mosul, the country's second-largest city. The town, about 93 miles east of the Syrian border, sits along a major road that was once a key IS supply route.

On Monday, hundreds of exhausted civilians were brought by Iraqi army trucks from the front line to a humanitarian collection point just west of Mosul. Many described a harrowing journey of a day or more from Tal Afar, with no food or water.

Jassem Aziz Tabo, an elderly man who arrived with his 12-member family, said he had left Tal Afar months ago and gone to a village on the outskirts to escape hunger, airstrikes and violence from the militants.

"Those who tried to escape were captured and shot in the head. They killed my son," he said. "He tried to escape, he was caught and they killed him."

He said severe shortages have caused the price of food to skyrocket in Tal Afar, which has been besieged by Iraqi forces for months, with 2.2 pounds of sugar selling for $50.

"There was nothing. We were eating pieces of bread with water," he said.

Alia Imad, a mother of three whose family paid $300 to a smuggler to lead them to safety, said there is no drinking water left in the town. "Most people drink water that's not clean. The majority are surviving on that and a bit of bread," she said.

The group she was with had come under fire during their escape from the militants, she said. A woman was killed, and they had to bury her by the road.

Lise Grande, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator, said conditions in Tal Afar are "very tough."

"Thousands of people are leaving, seeking safety and assistance. Families escaping northeast are trekking 10 and up to 20 hours to reach mustering points. They are exhausted and many are dehydrated when they finally arrive," she said.

Lt. Gen. Anwar Hama, of the Iraqi air force, told The Associated Press that airstrikes this week have targeted IS headquarters, tunnels and weapons' stores.

But Iraqi forces, closely backed by the U.S.-led coalition, are not expected to push into the town for another few weeks, according to an Iraqi officer overseeing the operation. He spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

Iraqi army, federal police and special forces units are expected to participate in the operation, as well as state-sanctioned mostly Shiite militias known as the Popular Mobilization Forces.

The militiamen largely stayed out of the operation to retake Mosul, a mostly Sunni city, but have vowed to play a bigger role in Tal Afar, which was mostly Shiite before it fell to IS, a Sunni extremist group. The militias captured Tal Afar's airport, on the outskirts of the town, last year.

Their participation in the coming offensive could heighten sectarian and regional tensions. Tal Afar was once home to Shiite and Sunni Arabs, as well as a sizable ethnic Turkmen community with close ties to neighboring Turkey. Turkish officials have expressed concern that once territory is liberated from IS, Iraqi Kurdish or Shiite forces may push out Sunni Arabs or ethnic Turkmen.

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag said his country would be watching the operation closely.

"Tal Afar is a town where almost the entire population is Turkmen. We have always considered it a priority for the region to be cleared from (IS) and for it to be returned to its owners," Bozdag said after a Cabinet meeting Tuesday.

"Turkey has always said that the region's demographic and religious makeup must be taken into consideration," Bozdag said. The state-backed militias "should not enter the region."

On Monday, the Iraqi army began moving an armored brigade to the front line south of Tal Afar, while an infantry division was deployed about 19 miles to the town's east.

Brig. Gen. Abdul Hussein al-Khazali, deputy commander of the army's 15th division, said his forces were going to inch closer to Tal Afar village by village before they are ready to launch the final attack, partly to ensure they can protect fleeing civilians.

The United Nations says some 49,000 people have fled the Tal Afar district since April, compounding a humanitarian crisis that has lingered despite the cessation of major fighting inside Mosul. It says nearly a million people were displaced by the Mosul campaign.

Associated Press writer Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey, contributed to this report.

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Thousands flee as Iraq steps up airstrikes on Islamic State-held town - Chicago Tribune

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A survey by the Pew Research Centre found that ISIS was named as the top threat by citizens in 18 countries, including the UK, France, Germany and the US.

Across Europe, 74 per cent said they view ISIS as a major threat to their country.

However, the terror group has a crumbling hold on territories in Iraq.

Iraqs Defence Ministry has completed preparations for retaking Tal Afar, ISIS last stronghold in the ancient Assyrian city of Nineveh.

The Iraqi Defence Ministry has said it is waiting for orders to launch operations for the enclave.

People with right-wing views were found to be more likely to see ISIS as a threat, researchers found.

The Pew survey also showed that people living in 13 countries, mostly concentrated in Africa and Latin America, felt climate change was the greatest threat they faced.

More than half of the respondents from the 38 countries polled thought cyberattacks by foreign powers were a cause for concern.

Japanese respondents said cyber attacks were the biggest the biggest cause for concern.

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In Greece and Venezuela, respondents said the condition of the global economy was the biggest threat they faced.

Hungary was the only country to view the influx of refugees as the biggest threat to worry about.

Researchers also found that attitudes varied towards the threat posed by Russian president Vladimir Putins regime.

The Pew report stated: While Russias power and influence are not named as the greatest threat in any of the countries polled in Europe or North America, there is particular concern in Poland (65 per cent).

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And 47 per cent in the US see Russia as a major threat, but there is a partisan divide: 61 per cent of Democrats say Russias power and influence is a major threat, compared with only 36 per cent of Republicans. Across all of Europe, a median of 41 per cent perceive Russia as a major threat.

Concerns over US influence have also risen since Donald Trump was elected President, it was found.

The report said: US power and influence is seen as a major threat by a median of 31 per cent across Europe.

Spain, however, is an outlier, with 59 per cent worried about the US In six European countries surveyed and Canada, worries about American power and influence are up since 2016.

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ISIS seen as biggest threat in world despite expected defeat in Iraq, new research reveals - Express.co.uk

At least 10 security personnel were killed on Wednesday in three attacks by Islamic State (IS) militants on military bases in Iraqs Salahudin province, an official said.

Six suicide bombers wearing explosive vests carried out a pre-dawn attack on military bases in Baiji town, about 200 km from here, leading to heavy clashes for several hours, Xinhua quoted the source as saying.

The clashes resulted in the killing of nine policemen and four suicide bombers, the source said, adding the clashes continued till afternoon as the police were still fighting two suicide bombers in the town.

The IS seized Baiji in June 2014, but the Iraqi security forces liberated the town in late 2015.

The liberation of the town gave the Iraqi forces complete control of the highway stretching from Baghdad to Baiji, and allowed forces to use Baiji as a launching pad for a further advance toward the IS stronghold in Mosul.

Baiji has been almost totally destroyed by previous battles despite more than a year-and-a-half of being freed from IS militants.

Inhabitants cannot return to the devastated town as security forces, including the Hashd Shaabi units, are stationed in some bases in the town.

IS militants attacked the posts of paramilitary Hashd Shaabi units in Zuwiyah area, about 30 km north of Baiji, but the forces fought back and prevented the group from taking the bases, the source said.

Initial reports said at least one Hashd Shaabi member was killed and three wounded.

The third attack occurred early in the morning on a Kurdish forces military base near Tuz-Khurmato town that left two Peshmerga fighters wounded and an IS militant dead and another wounded, the source said.

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10 security personnel killed in IS attacks on Iraq bases - The Hindu

DUBAI (Reuters) - OPEC member Iraq has formed a joint venture with a shipping company owned by Arab states to transfer, store and trade crude and oil products, according to official documents and industry sources.

Middle East oil producers are venturing into buying and selling oil to boost their incomes as a sharp drop in crude prices since mid-2014 has forced the industry to become more efficient and commercially focussed.

The venture, Al-Iraqia Shipping Services and Oil Trading (AISSOT), will handle a "plethora of activities ranging from trading of petroleum products, ship chartering, oil terminals, various marine services, and bunkering", according to a company statement sent to Reuters.

AISSOT is owned by state firm Iraqi Oil Tankers Co (IOTC) and Arab Maritime Petroleum Transport Co (AMPTC), a pan-Arab company in which Arab oil producers such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait hold a share.

IOTC owns a stake of 22.5 percent in AISSOT, according to a copy of the signed 20-year contract seen by Reuters.

"Formation of AISSOT is based on Iraqi Oil Ministry vision to further strengthen activities of two major entities i.e. AMPTC and IOTC in the field of shipping, marine services, and oil trading," the company said in a statement.

"It is also one of Iraqi Oil Ministrys initiatives to develop national oil companies to international levels."

AISSOT, which will soon start bunkering operations at ports in southern Iraq, is the second oil venture set up recently by the country.

State oil marketer SOMO and Russia's Litasco formed a joint trading company in Dubai to market crude and may expand into oil products and petrochemicals, industry sources said.

"The new venture will have exclusive rights for transportation of crude and refined products. It will develop other projects include trading starting with fuel oil and products and can eventually get into crude oil allocations," said an industry source familiar with the company's operations.

AISSOT will be based in Dubai with plans to open offices in Singapore and other hubs. It has around 25 employees now and intends to go up to 50 in Dubai by the year-end, the source said.

The company is in discussions to build a terminal storage facility in Iraq over the next few years that would handle crude and oil products, the source added.

According to AISSOT, the company "is in a position to invest in and gradually acquire a significant fleet to transport the majority of Iraqi crude oil to end users at competitive rates".

The company will also start a marine academy to train Iraqis, with the aim of eventually having up to 85 percent Iraqi nationals working on its ships.

AISSOT's co-owner AMPTC was established in 1973 by member countries of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries. Saudi Arabia's government is the biggest shareholder in AMPTC with a 15.595 percent stake, while Iraq has 13.657 percent, according to the company's website.

Kuwait has 15.484 percent, the UAE 14.175 percent and Qatar 14.776 percent, along with other countries such as Libya, Algeria, Bahrain and Egypt.

Reporting by Rania El Gamal; Editing by Dale Hudson

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Iraq sets up oil shipping, trading joint venture - Reuters

Ahead of next years general election, a large majority of Iraqs political forces are seeking to reinforce their independence from Iran. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, who can take credit for the recent victories against the Islamic State, has long had strained relations with Iran. Now he has become a critic of lawless behavior in some elements of the security forces, including Iranian-backed groups. His governments position has been to strengthen state institutions and to reinforce the chain of command.

Meanwhile, Ammar al-Hakim, one of Iraqs leading politicians and the scion of one of the countrys most prominent Shiite families, announced in late July that he would leave the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, a political party that his family founded in Tehran with Iranian assistance in the 1980s. He has also formed his own party, from which he continues to establish his independence from Iran.

The Sadrist movement, which represents millions of poor Shiite Muslims in Baghdad and throughout southern Iraq, has also openly aligned itself in the anti-Iranian camp. The grass-roots movements leader, Moktada al-Sadr, paid a visit this summer to Saudi Arabia, Irans biggest regional rival. He also visited the United Arab Emirates, another Sunni state that opposes Iran. These trips were intended to help develop bilateral relations and, thus, Iraqs independence from Iran.

The only major political coalition to have formally adopted a pro-Iranian approach is led by former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. Since leaving office in 2014, Mr. Maliki has been tainted by the armed forces humiliating defeat by the Islamic State, for which he has rightly been blamed, and which has affected his popularity. He has since sought to reinvent himself as the patron saint of a pro-Iranian militant Iraq that is in confrontation with an ever-growing list of conspirators, including Saudi Arabia, Israel, the Kurds and the United States, among others.

With nearly all of Iraqs political forces lined up against Iran in 2018, it looks likely that the pro-Iranians will be trounced at the ballot. And yet it looks just as likely that this will have little effect on Irans influence in Iraq.

In Iraqs electoral system, its very difficult for any one alliance to take much more than 20 percent of the vote. This means the various alliances must engage in horse trading and coalition building to form a government. As parties try to secure lucrative ministries, they will lose sight of the goals that they campaigned on like Iraqi independence. Like every government formed since the invasion in 2003, the next one will be made up of parties pulling the country in different directions. It is a recipe for inaction and Iran will prey on this.

Neither the United States nor Saudi Arabia nor any other country will be able to have a decisive influence. Outside countries have consistently failed to positively influence Iraqi politics. If these parties really want to prevent Iranian influence, they should provide assistance to security units, like the Counter Terrorism Service, which has been by far the most effective force against the Islamic State. The continued success of professional security services, rather than Iran-backed paramilitary groups, will allow for Iraq to guarantee its own security.

Against this backdrop, there remains one wild card that could present a real challenge to Iranian domination: intervention by Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraqs Shiite spiritual leader.

In 2014, Ayatollah Sistani issued a fatwa that called for Iraqis to defend the country against the Islamic State. In response, tens of thousands of Shiites joined the army and other groups, including pro-Iranian paramilitary forces. The fatwas unintended effect was to give these groups some form of religious legitimacy. Many commentators have speculated that Ayatollah Sistani may now be on the cusp of rescinding his fatwa, which could, in turn, force the Popular Mobilization Forces to dissolve.

For now, that seems unlikely. The Popular Mobilization Forces enjoy broad legitimacy for their contribution to the war effort, and many Iraqis prefer that they be maintained as part of the official security forces. Even Mr. Abadi has opposed any such dissolution for many of these same reasons.

But a new fatwa from Ayatollah Sistani, following the total liberation of Iraqi territories from the Islamic State, could redefine the obligations of those Iraqis who volunteered in 2014 as being to support Iraqs army and police which prohibits Iraqis from engaging in any actions that would undermine Iraqs national sovereignty. Mr. Abadi has already insisted that the Popular Mobilization Forces are prohibited from acting outside of Iraq. If the religious establishment supported the prime minister in this, it could nudge Iraq toward greater independence from Iran.

Since 2003, Ayatollah Sistani and the religious establishment have largely failed to control the worst tendencies in Iraqi politics. Now the stakes are so high that there is reason to hope for more decisive action. Iraqs future is in their hands. The margin for error is worryingly small.

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Can Anyone Stop Iran From Taking Over Iraq? - New York Times