"After walking more than 10 kilometers, we failed to find our home because the entire neighborhood was brought to rubble," Yassin Al-Talafari told IslamOnline.net over the phone.

The 24-year-old recalled being forced to flee, along with his family, after the American bombardment of the city intensified on September 9.

Eyewitnesses said the excessive use of force by the US and Iraqi forces resulted in massive destruction across the city, particularly in Sarray and Hassan Kuwi districts.

"Having found their homes razed to the ground, some of the returning families are seeking shelter with relatives and others are considering to leave the town," Othman Oklo, 42, told IOL.

US air strikes and bombardment have sent residents into panicky flight from the city, which is populated by a majority of Sunni Arabs and also Shiite Turkomans.

Some left for the nearby city of Mosul or ended up in a refugee camp on the city’s peripheries where they face serious shortages of clean water, food and medicine.

The Iraqi army announced Thursday, September 22, the end of the "successful" Tal Afar offensive, which involved 6,000 Iraqi soldiers, backed by 4,000 US troops.

It said 157 "rebels" had been killed and 683 suspects captured during the three-week offensive.

Inhabitable

Al-Talafari said the residents of the town, some 70 kilometers from the Syrian borders, are carving for attention.

"We are praying that the government would make good on its promises and immediately begin rebuilding the city," he added.

The returnees are complaining from clear water shortage and power outage after the infrastructure was battered by the bombardment.

"The humanitarian conditions in the town are not improving government," said Bashar Omar, a civil servant.

"The entire neighborhood lacks in drinking water and the main generator supplying us with power has been bombed," he added.

Media Blackout

The US-Iraqi troops imposed a complete media blackout on the Tal Afar operation, according to IOL correspondent.

No reporters were allowed into the town during the military operations except for the official Al-Iraqiya channel.

Military units were given strict orders not to let reporters into the city under the pretext of protecting their personal safety.

The only photos available were those released by the US military press service.

A source at Ninawa Journalists Syndicate said the US and Iraqi forces detained 17 journalists and seized their cameras when they attempted to provide the offensive.

Mohammad Rashid, the governor of Tal Afar, has resigned his post protesting the "sectarian operation" against battered northern town.

"The operation is targeting Sunni neighborhoods," he had said.

US and Iraqi forces argue that Tal Afar is being used as a conduit for equipment and foreign fighters allegedly smuggled in from Syria.

In August of 2004, Tal Afar was the scene of a deadly US offensive that killed hundreds of its residents and displaced thousands.