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April 3, 2003, The Scotsman BASRA BRITISH STEP UP CAMPAIGN Gethin Chamberlain BRITISH troops have been involved in heavy fighting around the southern Iraqi city of Basra as they step up their campaign there. Fedayeen militia were targeted by overnight bombing raids, in which 16 JDAM bombs - 2,000lb devices guided to their targets using global positioning satellite technology - were dropped on the city, but there was no official confirmation of casualty figures. British artillery was also in action and tanks of the Queen's Dragoon Guards engaged and destroyed six Iraqi tanks which had been firing on British positions. The tanks are believed to have been previously concealed behind defensive sand berms. British troops also came under fire from mortar positions inside the city. British military commanders say they are prepared to wait for the right moment to enter Basra rather than risk heavy casualties in a direct assault while resistance is still strong. People who have fled have told troops that the militia has taken over schools, hospitals and even mosques and maintained a tight grip on the city. The feeling on the ground is that the British battle groups would rather wait until the fall of Baghdad, which could be enough to convince the civilian population to turn on the Iraqi authorities in Iraq's second city. However, the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers has now established a bridgehead in the north of Basra and raids are continuing to test the strength of the defending forces. British commanders, buoyed by the success of the humanitarian aid effort in the nearby town of Az Zubayr, are keen to get aid into Basra. Water was restored to most parts of Az Zubayr yesterday, the day after the commanding officer of the Black Watch, Lieutenant Colonel Mike Riddell -Webster, led the first foot patrol into the town to speak to the people and assure them military engineers would restore services. But officials say they are still wary of the threat from suicide bombers, and that has now been identified as the main danger to British troops in the area outside Basra. Captain Rob Sandford, with the Black Watch, said there was evidence to suggest that people had been promised money for their families if they were prepared to strap bombs to their bodies to blow up themselves and British troops. Meanwhile, the capture of five Iraqi cruise missiles by British forces patrolling the south of the country represents a "significant" swipe at Saddam's military capability, a weapons expert said. The United States' Central Command revealed that UK forces made the find near Az Zubayr airport as part of their efforts to secure the Al Faw peninsula and the Rumaila oilfields. At a briefing in Qatar, Brigadier General Vince Brooks said the Iraqi missiles were of the Styx variety. "They can be fired into Kuwaiti territory or against ships that are in the north Arabian Gulf," he said. At the weekend, a missile, apparently fired from southern Iraq fell into the sea and exploded near a major shopping centre in Kuwait City, but caused no serious injuries and little damage. It was the closest a missile had come to Kuwait City since the war began, although others have been intercepted by the US Patriot missile system. Duncan Lennox, the editor of Jane's Strategic Weapon Systems, said the Styx missile was originally designed and built in Russia in the 1950s. The Russians then exported it to China, where they built their own version and called it the Silkworm missile. The range of the missile was then increased by the Chinese who called it a Seersucker. "Then these were sold to Iraq in the early 1980s and then the Iraqis increased the range by putting extra fuel tanks and they called them the Faw missile - after the Al Faw peninsula where they were kept," Mr Lennox said. The missiles have three different ranges up to 125 miles and were used against Iran in their war with Iraq from 1980 to 1988. "We don't know how many of these missiles they have got. They probably had around 50 in 1991, but they may have got some more from other places. "North Korea also make them so they could have topped up their supplies." Mr Lennox said the seizure of the missiles was a "significant" blow to Saddam Hussein's troops as it was probably one of the most powerful weapons in their arsenal. He said it was difficult to put a price on the Styx missiles, although they were probably not very expensive compared with the US forces' Tomahawks. Mr Lennox estimated their cost at around GBP 63,000. "They are nowhere near as powerful as the Tomahawk. Their maximum range is 200km, whereas a Tomahawk can travel for 1,700km. "These are old missiles, designed in the 1950s, certainly pretty slow and probably not that accurate," he said.
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................................................................................................................. Copyright ©2004 Gethin Chamberlain. All rights reserved. |
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