iraq-war-2003

War in Iraq, 2003

Pool copy

Red hackles rise as the Black Watch stride out

April 2, 2003

TAM-o'-shanter perched atop his head, pistol secured in its holster on his belt, steel-rimmed glasses pushed back on to the bridge of his nose, Lt Col Mike Riddell-Webster, commanding officer of the Black Watch, is striding ahead through the crowded market place in the centre of the town of Zubayr. Yesterday this street was thought still too dangerous to drive down in a soft-skinned Land Rover, but the CO has decided enough is enough.

In this cat and mouse game, the sniper is king

March 31, 2003

Story archive

IT WAS the tank crew who spotted them first - four men in civilian clothing jumping out of the back of a pick-up truck carrying a rocket-propelled grenade launcher in the heart of Az Zubayr. Corporal Mark Harvey was the first of the snipers to react, dropping to his knee and fixing the man carrying the RPG in his sights. He had one shot at a moving target, but the militia man dropped like a stone, dead before he hit the ground.

They poured out of their Warriors and let fly with grenades, guns, everything

March 26, 2003

JUST after dawn yesterday the Warrior crashed through the wall of the house tucked away down a side road in the Iraqi town of Al Zubayr, west of Basra. The first inkling those sleeping inside had that anything was wrong was when it hit the 10ft high perimeter wall, accelerating all the time. Bricks flying everywhere, it plunged on straight into the side of the house, the driver wincing as debris showered down on the metal hatch above his head. By the time those inside the house realised what was happening, it was too late. British troops were swarming through what was left of the two-storey blue-bricked building, determined that their quarry would not escape.

Home thoughts that hurt as the black snow falls

March 31, 2003

When they awoke it was everywhere, the oily cinders coating every surface, falling like tiny flakes of black snow. On their sleeping bags, on their skin, in their hair, breathing it in, impossible to brush off, melting into diesel-dark streaks, seeping into their pores. Overnight the wind had changed and the black clouds from the burning oil pipelines and the fire pits lit by the Iraqis, which had darkened the skyline to the north and east for days, had drifted over the camp, leaving a trail of ash and soot in its wake. Now the cloud had passed, but the black dust continued to fall, creeping into the vehicles, into the food, into the early morning cups of tea and coffee freshly brewed on the stoves dug into little pits outside every clump of tents.

Resistance crumbles as British troops make a decisive push

April 7, 2003

THE Iraqis were hiding in a bunker at the side of the road when the tanks first spotted them. There were four of them, waiting at a crossroads in the Al Hadi area of Basra, slotting another rocket-propelled grenade into their launcher to fire at the advancing British troops. The request to engage came over the commanding officer's radio. A moment's pause, and then the reply crackled back: "You are now clear to engage the bunker with four men with HESH and co-ax." High explosive shells and chain gun - that's what the jargon meant, and nothing could stand in their way. Inside the bunker, the militia had only a few seconds left. The sound of a dull explosion rolled across the city. Over the radio, the Challenger crew reported the kill. "The target was engaged and the job was done."

As we lay blindfolded, tied hand and foot, our captors asked: 'Shall we kill them?'

April 1, 2003

I said: 'We must pray together for a miracle. I told the men God will open this door and let us out. Half-an-hour later someone opened the door and ran away. We did not go out because we did not know if they were still there. But two hours later the army came and found us in the room. God must have given them the power to save us. It was a miracle."

Troops relish Basra statue raid

March 30, 2003

It's 0600 and Basra is burning, black clouds of oily smoke drifting over the city to the east, the sound of gunfire rolling across the canal. The television mast that dominated the skyline is gone and many of the militia men, who have tormented the UK troops laying siege to the city and fired on their own people as they tried to flee, lie dead.

War in the Gulf: Basra escape: Iraqi militia turns its fire on refugees: British rescue 1,000 fleeing across bridge

March 29, 2003

The crowd was halfway across the concrete and steel span of the bridge when the mortar rounds started falling on the Basra side. Men, women and children screamed as they ran to escape machine gun fire coming from Iraqi positions. A thousand people, maybe more, ran for their lives.

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Copyright ©2004 Gethin Chamberlain. All rights reserved.



			War in Iraq, 2003
Pool copy
			Red hackles rise as the Black Watch stride out April 2, 2003
			TAM-o'-shanter perched atop his head, pistol secured in its holster on his belt, steel-rimmed glasses pushed back on to the bridge of his nose, Lt Col Mike Riddell-Webster, commanding officer of the Black Watch, is striding ahead through the crowded market place in the centre of the town of Zubayr. Yesterday this street was thought still too dangerous to drive down in a soft-skinned Land Rover, but the CO has decided enough is enough.


			In this cat and mouse game, the sniper is king March 31, 2003
Story archive			IT WAS the tank crew who spotted them first - four men in civilian clothing jumping out of the back of a pick-up truck carrying a rocket-propelled grenade launcher in the heart of Az Zubayr. Corporal Mark Harvey was the first of the snipers to react, dropping to his knee and fixing the man carrying the RPG in his sights. He had one shot at a moving target, but the militia man dropped like a stone, dead before he hit the ground.


			They poured out of their Warriors and let fly with grenades, guns, everything March 26, 2003
			JUST after dawn yesterday the Warrior crashed through the wall of the house tucked away down a side road in the Iraqi town of Al Zubayr, west of Basra. The first inkling those sleeping inside had that anything was wrong was when it hit the 10ft high perimeter wall, accelerating all the time. Bricks flying everywhere, it plunged on straight into the side of the house, the driver wincing as debris showered down on the metal hatch above his head. By the time those inside the house realised what was happening, it was too late. British troops were swarming through what was left of the two-storey blue-bricked building, determined that their quarry would not escape.


			Home thoughts that hurt as the black snow falls March 31, 2003
			When they awoke it was everywhere, the oily cinders coating every surface, falling like tiny flakes of black snow. On their sleeping bags, on their skin, in their hair, breathing it in, impossible to brush off, melting into diesel-dark streaks, seeping into their pores. Overnight the wind had changed and the black clouds from the burning oil pipelines and the fire pits lit by the Iraqis, which had darkened the skyline to the north and east for days, had drifted over the camp, leaving a trail of ash and soot in its wake. Now the cloud had passed, but the black dust continued to fall, creeping into the vehicles, into the food, into the early morning cups of tea and coffee freshly brewed on the stoves dug into little pits outside every clump of tents.


			Resistance crumbles as British troops make a decisive push April 7, 2003
			THE Iraqis were hiding in a bunker at the side of the road when the tanks first spotted them. There were four of them, waiting at a crossroads in the Al Hadi area of Basra, slotting another rocket-propelled grenade into their launcher to fire at the advancing British troops. The request to engage came over the commanding officer's radio. A moment's pause, and then the reply crackled back: "You are now clear to engage the bunker with four men with HESH and co-ax." High explosive shells and chain gun - that's what the jargon meant, and nothing could stand in their way. Inside the bunker, the militia had only a few seconds left. The sound of a dull explosion rolled across the city. Over the radio, the Challenger crew reported the kill. "The target was engaged and the job was done."


			As we lay blindfolded, tied hand and foot, our captors asked: 'Shall we kill them?' April 1, 2003
			I said: 'We must pray together for a miracle. I told the men God will open this door and let us out. Half-an-hour later someone opened the door and ran away. We did not go out because we did not know if they were still there. But two hours later the army came and found us in the room. God must have given them the power to save us. It was a miracle."


			Troops relish Basra statue raid March 30, 2003
			It's 0600 and Basra is burning, black clouds of oily smoke drifting over the city to the east, the sound of gunfire rolling across the canal. The television mast that dominated the skyline is gone and many of the militia men, who have tormented the UK troops laying siege to the city and fired on their own people as they tried to flee, lie dead.


			War in the Gulf: Basra escape: Iraqi militia turns its fire on refugees: British rescue 1,000 fleeing across bridge March 29, 2003
			The crowd was halfway across the concrete and steel span of the bridge when the mortar rounds started falling on the Basra side. Men, women and children screamed as they ran to escape machine gun fire coming from Iraqi positions. A thousand people, maybe more, ran for their lives.
			--











			Next page Copyright ©2004 Gethin Chamberlain. All rights reserved.