 The majority of American shelling and aerial bombardment that occurred during July and August was to defeat the overwhelming number of explosive laden houses, that were rigged and left behind as traps by the fleeing Al Qaeda forces.One such home was detonated on American forces attempting to clear it of insurgent forces on 6 August, and resulted in four American deaths.The US army admits that nearly 80 per cent of Al-Qaeda leaders fled the area, in June, during the initial stages of the operation.