The combination of military operations and local population support in northern Iraq has forced quite a few al Qaeda fighters out of urban areas in order to flee to the desert, or even out of the country.
The northern division is about the size of Pennsylvania and includes Diyala, Salahuddin, Ninevah and Tamim provinces.
Some insurgents are hiding out in abandoned mud huts, canals or caves in the desert.
The desert hideaways are targets under six-week-long Operation Iron Harvest, part of the countrywide Operation Phantom Phoenix.
The insurgents are most likely thinking that the military if after them: a sound thought, because they are.