Troops make progress in Tal Afar battle as U.S. defense secretary visits Iraq

By Idrees Ali and Raya JalabiBAGHDAD/ERBIL, Iraq (Reuters) - Government forces breached the city limits of Tal Afar in northwestern Iraq on Tuesday on the third day of a U.S.-backed offensive to seize it back from Islamic State militants.Tal Afar, a longtime Islamic State stronghold, is the latest objective in the war following the recapture of Mosul after a nine-month campaign that left much of that city in ruins.U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, speaking just before arriving in Iraq on Tuesda