Under fire Feels like war for British forces in southern Iraq

BBC ^ | 18/05/04 | Ben Brown

[AngloSaxon]

'War rumbles on' in southern Iraq

By Ben Brown BBC correspondent in Amara, southern Iraq

British troops are 'struggling to control' Amara Just after midnight, British tanks and armoured personnel carriers rumble into action.

They are hunting down their enemy here, Shia rebels loyal to the radical cleric Moqtada Sadr.

Around Amara, it is not so much a question of peacekeeping as war fighting.

The British troops fire flares to light up the landscape. Infantry then fan out and pursue four suspected insurgents who have been spotted through night sights. The flares set fire to vegetation.

Just the night before, the British were ambushed down the road from here. In the end, they killed more than 20 of their attackers in close combat.

The British troops even fixed their bayonets. They say they can't afford to take any chances.

"The Mehdi Army are a very ruthless and determined enemy," said Major James Coote of the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment.

"They will use any tactics available including using children to attack us, or to hide behind children, as they have done within the city in the last week or so. Unfortunately they are also very well armed.

"We have certainly won a few battles but we haven't yet won the war."

'Waterloo'

For the British, the idea of this operation tonight is to show that they, not the Sadr rebels, own this road and to ram home the message that anyone thinking of carrying out more ambushes here had better think again.

The British have seized from the Sadr rebels in the last few days everything from heavy machine guns to mortars - antiquated perhaps but still dangerous, as we found out.

Sirens wailed as the British base where we were staying came under attack. We took cover inside.

This is a regular occurrence in and around Amara. Sometimes the British have felt under siege here. Indeed, it's only recently they have dared patrol these streets on foot.

Before, Sadr rebels ruled the roost in downtown Amara. Then a few days ago the British drove them out in a battle they call "Waterloo". Even so, the troops steer clear of a mosque that is still a Sadr stronghold.

With frequent ambushes on the road out of Amara, the safest way for us to leave was by helicopter.

This province has always been unruly, full of criminal gangs and warring tribes.

Even Saddam Hussein struggled to control it - now the British are struggling too.

[Timocrat]

Just the night before, the British were ambushed down the road from here. In the end, they killed more than 20 of their attackers in close combat.

Virgins R Us must be doing a land office business lately. More good news from Iraq.