[LdSentinal]

There is no need to level a city of 500,000 people.

This is a desert. What do they need most? WATER.

Blockade the city and poison all the water deposits in the city and the insurgency would wither in less than aweek.

Of course, the drawback would be that thousands of innocents would be killed by such a tactic.

[ConservativeMan55]

Thousands might be killed. But millions would be saved.

[ConservativeMan55]

You could save money by doing that as well.

[BOBWADE]