Iraqi troops ‘liberate’ Tal Afar town center
The Iraqi military says it has “fully liberated” Tal Afar’s town center from the Islamic State group.
That brings Iraqi forces a step closer to taking full control of one of the extremists’ last strongholds in Iraq.
The Aug. 27 statement says Iraqi troops have captured all of the town’s neighborhoods and they are now heading to al-Ayadia district, about 10 kilometers (6 miles) northwest of Tal Afar where militants have fled.
On Aug. 20, U.S.-backed Iraqi troops launched a multi-pronged operation to retake Tal Afar, a month after declaring Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city, fully liberated. Tal Afar is about 150 kilometers (93 miles) from Syria’s border.
The militants still control the northern town of Hawija as well as Qaim, Rawa and Ana, in western Iraq near the Syrian border. AP
European aviation agency orders Airbus A350 safety fix
The European Aviation Safety Agency has issued an air worthiness directive about Airbus’s A350-941 aircraft, warning that a problem could lead to an engine explosion under certain conditions if not corrected.
The Cologne, Germany,-based agency, said that Airbus has already come up with a fix and the directive, which went into effect Aug. 24, orders that it be implemented on all affected planes.
The problem involves the hydraulic fluid cooling system in the fuel tanks. EASA said a failure discovered with the hydraulic “engine driven pump” could cause a fast temperature rise.
If not corrected, EASA said the condition “could lead to an uncontrolled overheat of the hydraulic fluid, possibly resulting in the ignition of the fuel-air mixture in the affected fuel tank.” AP