| BASRA: ANTI-SADDAM RIOTS |
 |
British forces are firing on Iraqi troops who are trying to crush the uprising, the reports add.
Reporter Richard Gaisford, who is with troops just west of Basra, said British intelligence officers told him about the civil uprising.
The Scots Dragoon Guards officers told him Saddam loyalists were firing mortar rounds at the attackers.
UK troops responded by firing artillery shells at the Iraqi positions, Gaisford said.
Two large explosions have been heard in the city centre and there are reports the ruling Ba'ath Party HQ has been hit.
Gaisford said the officers had earlier told him intelligence from the southern Iraqi city suggested that local people had indicated they would welcome the Allied forces but were in fear of Saddam loyalists.
"Now it seems they have had the courage to stand up to Saddam Hussein and his regime and they will be supported by British forces," Gaisford said.
Gaisford said British troops were preparing to enter the city centre when dawn breaks in Iraq.
Sky News Foreign Editor Tim Marshall said that if the reports were true, it would be a "crucial moment" in the Iraq war.
He said it could trigger more uprisings across parts of Iraq - which the British and American governments had hoped for.
Marshall said the majority of the people around Basra were Shi'ite Muslims, who had been oppressed by Saddam's regime.
Saddam's ruling Ba'ath Party are predominantly made up of Sunni Muslims.
Earlier, British military sources said about 20 of Saddam Hussein's henchmen were killed and a key party official captured in a raid by British forces near Basra on Monday night.