Uprising By Shiites in Basra Underway; British Pouring Artillery into City

Sky News Live Feed ^ | 03/25/03 | TonyInOhio

[TonyInOhio]

Just monitored on Sky News: embedded reporter says Shiites in Basra have begun, in his words, a "popular uprising" against the Saddam forces still in the city. British Army units are "pouring" artillery into the city (likely isolated areas) preparing to move in.

[stands2reason]

Coming up on CNN: Military Strategy for Taking Basra. They haven't even touched on this development....

[Dog]

Sky News reporter....Brits have just bombed the ruling Ba'ath Party HQ......won't enter city....until morning.......ugh!!!!!!

Can't chance a ambush...

[section9]

This is key.

I believe that the S.A.S. have probably been engaged in a program of assassinations and urban warfare. They have been in Basrah since before the war. They have waited until the proper moment. Now it has arrived.

Time for the Brits to take advantage of this. I understand that they are going in at first light.

Be Seeing You,

Chris

[Dog Gone]

Sky News says Iraqi troops launching mortars on citizens from a location in the city center. British troops are trying to lay artillery fire on source of mortars.

[mabelkitty]

So they are plentiful in both populations?

Interesting.

So what are the chances the Iraqi Shi'ites will help the Iranian Shi'ites rise up and toss out their evil?

[Enterprise]

Laughing, laughing, laughing! Good ol' Brits. Stirring up the Shiite and here comes the long awaited bloodbaath against the tyrants! LET's ROLL!!!

[AmericanMade1776]

THE REVOLUTION HAS STARTED....YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!

[Vets_Husband_and_Wife]

Prayers for the people of Basra fighting for their FREEDOM!! Prayers for the Brits (The Royal Artillery) and the Americans risking it all to help them.

[TonyInOhio]

Sky News reporter back on (he's with Scottish Dragoon Guards). Gives confirmation of first reports.

Coalition aircraft just now bombed the Ba'athist Party headquarters; thinks it was an American JDAM.

British forces preparing to move into Basra at first light.

[Bahbah]

Thanks for the ping, MnM. I hope we do what needs to be done here. Oh, and let the media whining begin.

[CELTICGAEL (Celt)]

reporter said that American jdam may have dropped it on the Bath (sp?) party HQ"S

[FBD]

Re: Shia Muslims;

I just had my hair cut by a woman who is a Shia Muslim, from Iran. Her family is still in Tehran. If she is at all representitive of the rest of them, we have nothing to worry about.

According to her, Shia' want freedom from both the ayatollah, and freedom for Iraq.

FRegards

[HiTech RedNeck]

I don't know But I am spiking Right now! I am practically jumping up and down in my cubie!! Finally the Iraqis are realizing that we mean it this time!! I guess they are feeling that little thing called Freedom creep up on them!

Now if they can only keep the whole thing from going in the toilet post-war. Turkey is the only predominantly Islamic country that has done it so far, and that's only because they don't allow the government to be run by mullahs. Will the Iraqi Muslims turn on us if we try to set it up on terms parallel to that of Turkey?

[Oldeconomybuyer]

Iraq is imploding:

BAGHDAD, Iraq, March 25 (UPI) -- Iraqi President Saddam Hussein urged tribesmen to take the initiative and attack the U.S. and British forces without waiting for orders.

"Don't wait until you receive the order from the authorities you are used to receive directions from," Saddam said in an appeal to the tribes leaders broadcast on Iraqi TV on Tuesday.

LINK

[Dog]

Heavy fire going into the city....reporter saw 12 rockets enter the city....he heard what sounds like 2 large explosions.....speculating it was a J-Dam...

[dirtboy]

Recent U.S. history tells me that the more likely scenario is that we don't have a clue about what we are doing in the long term.

Yeah, the U.S. is such a failure in that department - I mean, other than defeating Nazism, facism, Tojoism, communism, Saddam in the Gulf War, the Taliban and the Al Qaeda structure, we're just a bunch of clueless dolts.

[nicmarlo]

I was reading about those little children learning to do the surrender thing from our leaflets and the soldiers were throwing food and water down to them! Those little Iraqi children have my heart already!!

How wonderful for them to learn what it will mean to speak their minds and breath in liberty!!

[rocky88]

CNN has not even touched this - Paula Zahn still despondent over the fact that our troops haven't been whisked up "Wizard of OZ style" by the sandstorms.... she's just awful.

[Fury]

Just announced that Iraqi troops dropping mortars on protesters in Basra.

British artillery determining source of mortar fire and returning fire.

Large explosion from a bomb has occurred in/around Ba'ath party headquarters in Basra.

[Charles Martel]

Overheard on DUh:

mclam: Does not compute.... Why are they firing on their own people? Am I reading this wrong? Propaganda? What's going on?

donsu: hard to believe Iraqis firing on own people

buddhamama: rising up against whom? the UK soldiers or the Iraqi soldiers that are firing on them?

Not the brightest lot, are they?