 Consequently, as soon as they left guerilla fighters were back in the towns and reestablished control over the town.Insurgents' continued presence in the Syrian desert meant that the Syrian border would remain a viable route for smuggling military equipment used by the insurgency.The engagement could loosely be described as a running battle, with the heaviest fighting taking place in urban environments located in Ubaydi, Arabi, and Al-Qa'im, all are cities in the insurgent dominated Al Anbar Governorate.