Imam Gharbi, a village 60 kilometres south of Mosul, has been fully liberated from the "Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" (ISIS), Iraq's Joint Operations Command said Thursday (July 20th).

ISIS infiltrated Imam Gharbi in al-Qayyarah on July 5th, seizing territory in the village and barricading themselves inside its buildings.

"Iraqi forces have fully liberated the village and raised the Iraqi flag on its buildings," said command spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Rasul.

The al-Sharqat-Mosul road that passes through the village has also now been reopened, he told Diyaruna.

Around 30 ISIS elements were killed in the battles, prompting the others to flee to adjacent areas, Rasul said.

"The fleeing elements are being pursued now by our helicopters," he added.

In the town of Tal Afar to the west of Mosul, Iraqi warplanes have been pounding ISIS sites and ammunition caches.

"Iraqi F16s launched several airstrikes, targeting and destroying an ISIS weapons and ammunition cache that contained large amounts of weapons and explosives," the ministry of defence said Thursday.

"Two ISIS headquarters were destroyed and about six terrorists were killed in al-Ayadhiya, north of Tal Afar," the ministry said.