Tal Afar turned into ghost town as US, Iraqi forces launch operation

The Turkmen city of Tal Afar has been completely deserted as an operation has been launched by the U.S., Iraqi Army and Hashd Shaabi militia. Approximately 40,000 Hashd Shaabi militia and Iraqi troops are taking part in the operation against 450 to 500 Daesh terrorists.

Tal Afar, which has a population comprised solely of Turkmens, is Iraq’s door to Syria.

Adil Selbi, the Turkmen Front's Mosul representative, said, "If the aim of the U.S., Iraqi Army and Hashd Shaabi is to take Tal Afar, it will be done in three days, but if the intention is to destroy Tal Afar, the city will be bombed for months.”

Before the war, Tal Afar, which has been under Daesh control since 2014, had a population of 450,000 civilians. This figure fell to 65,000 since Daesh took over and the population has continued to decrease as civilians migrate.

Prior to the operation launched by the U.S., Iraqi Army and Hashd Shaabi militia, the remaining 30,000 civilians fled the area.

With the operation that was announced on Aug. 20, Daesh evacuated the prisons and ordered the civilians to leave the city.

UN Iraqi Humanitarian Relief Coordinator Lise Grande said in a written statement that thousands of civilians had left Tal Afar and that those who escaped from the conflict had to travel for 10 to 20 hours in the hot weather.

Grande said: "More than 30,000 people in the region have escaped. There is no information about the situation of the civilians in the regions where conflicts are experienced. The UN Mission to Iraq (UNAMI) is preparing for the evacuation of thousands of civilians in the coming days and weeks."

Grande has warned that there may be civilian casualties, as food and water has run out in the city. Iraqi Prime Minister Haydar al-Ibadi informed the terrorists that there were no options other than to surrender or be killed.

The U.S., Iraqi Army and Hashd Shaabi are attacking Tal Afar from two points. The neighborhoods of Hasanköy, Cezire and Saray became the first points of contact with Daesh.

Intense land and air bombardments are underway. The civilians who managed to flee the city took refuge in Mosul and Kirkuk.

“Thirty percent of the district is already in ruins. Because the U.S., Iraqi Army and Hashd Shaabi militia are advancing by burning the area, what happened in Mosul and Kirkuk will recur in Tal Afar,” said a source who spoke to Yeni Şafak.

PKK terrorists are lying in wait in the Ayn Tallava village, located eight kilometers from Tal Afar.

Turkmens are concerned that the massacres and plundering that occurred in different parts of Iraq will be repeated in Tal Afar.

"The PKK is about seven kilometers away from Tal Afar and, as part of an agreement with Hashd Shaabi militias, is preparing for plunder,” said Hazım Devlet, the Turkmen Front's Tal Afar representative.