British General Cautious About Basra Control

07/04/2003| IslamWeb

After thrusting deep into the besieged city of Basra, British invasion forces are still cautious about how much of Iraq's second city they actually control, Britain's deputy commander in the Gulf told Reuters. Major General Peter Wall said he was confident they could get into most of the city -- as long as it was in a tank. A move into the narrow streets of the old city center would have to be on foot and Wall would say only that they would start "soon."

Guerrilla fighters remained a threat to the troops, he said.

Wall said on Monday. Major General Robin Brims commands the British land forces, who have besieged Basra for two weeks.

The Royal Marines' 3 Commando Brigade and the tanks of the 7th Armored Brigade, the "Desert Rats," stormed into Basra on Sunday, meeting only limited Iraqi resistance on several fronts.

Some reached Baghdad Street in the city center.

Asked how much of Basra was in British hands, Wall said: "It's a difficult question because in a situation like this all sorts of threats can emerge in the aftermath, particularly at night."

DETERMINED RESISTANCE

Wall said conventional Iraqi military forces had departed Basra, a city of about 1.5 million. But he cautioned against "excessive optimism" in the face of previous attacks in Iraqi cities by President Saddam Hussein's Baath party loyalists and paramilitary fighters from the Saddam Fedayeen militia.

"A relatively small number of determined people in a large city can still give us difficulty over the days and weeks ahead if they felt that way inclined," Wall said.

Three British invasion soldiers died on Sunday in fighting that mostly pitted them against irregular guerrilla fighters.

Wall said the British method for handling Basra -- patient encirclement, propaganda to the civilian population and probing thrusts by armored units -- may or may not be a model for the U.S. forces now consolidating positions around Baghdad.

He said that after nearly three weeks of war, Iraqis' will to resist in Baghdad may be lower than it was when the British arrived outside Basra within a couple of days of first invading.

But with more than three times the population and a vast urban sprawl, Baghdad is a far bigger target. And unlike Basra, where the heavily Shi'ite Muslim population has little love for Saddam, there are more people in the capital, especially from Saddam's Sunni minority, with much to lose if he is overthrown.

PHOTO CAPTION

Britain's 2 Company Irish Guards aim at targets as they continue to push against Saddam Hussein loyalists in the city of Basra, Iraq, Sunday April 6, 2003. (AP Photo/Daily Record/Tony Nicoletti/Pool)