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April 7, 2003, The Scotsman BLACK WATCH LEADS WAY IN TO BASRA Gethin Chamberlain In Basra And Jeanette Oldham SADDAM Hussein's grip on power appeared to be crumbling last night, as British troops took control of Basra and United States forces tightened the noose around Baghdad. Hundreds of British tanks and thousands of soldiers streamed into Basra, encountering only sporadic resistance from Iraqi militia and an increasingly friendly welcome from civilians. The speed of the thrust into Iraq's second city, spearheaded by the Black Watch, has convinced US military commanders that the end of the Iraqi regime is only a matter of hours away. There were also reports last night that US forces had taken the central Iraqi city of Karbala, helping to secure crucial supply routes to the north. Allied military planners are now preparing to launch an "ahead-of-schedule" assault on Saddam's home town of Tikrit, in northern Iraq, later this week. Last night, the vast majority of Basra was said to be under British control. However, three British soldiers died in the fighting, the Ministry of Defence said. One was named as Fusilier Kelan John Turrington, 18, of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers. The two other soldiers were thought to be Irish Guards fighting with the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards battlegroup. The attack began when the 7th Armoured Brigade, the Desert Rats, rode into Basra at dawn on what was intended to be a raid, but instead they began to secure the city after facing only light resistance. Troops which had been encircling Basra swept into the city from three sides, pushing forward between two and three miles. Forces bombarded the headquarters of the Baath party as the massive coalition assault moved into the centre of Basra, and, within hours, the airport was secured. Later, in the south-west of the city, Royal Marine Commandos spearheaded a second wave of attacks. British troops said they were being welcomed by civilians waving, cheering and sounding car horns. Captain Roger McMillan, of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, said the assault was a vindication of the British policy of "advancing slowly and softly, as opposed to hitting the door from day one". However, it was unclear how many Iraqi militia remained in Basra. According to some reports, the majority of Baath party militiamen and regular forces had fled through a narrow escape corridor that coalition forces had left open. However, an unknown number were thought to be holding out in one of Saddam's fortified palaces to the east of the city. Capt McMillan said: "We have pushed on the door of Basra and it opened. We are going to be staying." Another British military source said: "We think the regime could collapse once the people in Baghdad realise that Basra has now been taken." Group Captain Al Lockwood, a British military spokesman in Qatar, said it appeared Basra's Baath party leadership had either fled or been eliminated. By nightfall yesterday, US troops had almost completely encircled the besieged capital of Baghdad. The US strengthened its positions as an armoured column of 2,000 vehicles crossed the Euphrates, heading to join two other brigade combat teams already on the edge of the city. And the first US military supply plane touched down last night at the renamed Baghdad International Airport. More explosions could be heard in the city as the night wore on. Fierce fighting took place in the western suburbs as the US 3rd Infantry Division met determined resistance from Iraqi troops. They responded with mortar, artillery and rocket salvos. Artillery fire was reported to have hit some eastern parts of the capital and dozens of shorter-range mortar bombs were believed to have landed in the centre of the city for the first time in the war. In a message of defiance, Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf, Iraq's information minister, insisted that his country's forces had repulsed a US attack from the south. "We were able to chop off their rotten heads," the minister claimed. But Tony Blair's official spokesman said: "The advance is gathering speed and our position is getting even stronger. In Basra, the position is developing in our favour, but we will go in at our own pace. "In Baghdad, the position is moving very strongly in the coalition's favour." One setback for the coalition came in northern Iraq where at least 21 people, including three US soldiers, were killed in an apparent friendly-fire incident about 30 miles south of Mosul. A convoy of US special forces and Kurdish fighters appeared to have been targeted by a US F-15E Strike Eagle. The BBC journalist John Simpson was travelling with the convoy and was hit by shrapnel but was not seriously injured.
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................................................................................................................. Copyright ©2004 Gethin Chamberlain. All rights reserved. |
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