Diplomats and observers warn that this could be the deadliest phase of the war, as the army tries to target the rebels mixed in the civilian population.
Observers say the town, which has a mixedpopulation of Sunni Arabs and Turkmen, is an area used by insurgents crossing the Syrian border in both directions.
The mixed-race population has increased, due to both inter-racial marriages and Census Bureau forms in the past two headcounts that allow people to identify themselves as more than one race.