In our sights ... Desert Rats and tanks mass near Basra yesterday Pictures: TERRY RICHARDS & BRIAN ROBERTS From NICK PARKER with the British Army Field HQ, southern Iraq Posted on 03/27/2003 5:37:25 AM PST by veronica
In our sights ... Desert Rats and tanks mass near Basra yesterday Pictures: TERRY RICHARDS & BRIAN ROBERTS From NICK PARKER with the British Army Field HQ, southern Iraq
SADDAM’S henchmen fled in terror as the Desert Rats closed in on Basra with tanks yesterday.
Dozens of bloodthirsty thugs loyal to the tyrant were killed as warplanes blitzed three of their official buildings — paving the way for the British advance.
Survivors of the precision strikes ran for their lives from the rubble as the 7th Armoured Brigade swept in to end their reign of fear for good in the town of Al Zubayr, just a few miles south west of Basra.
A military source said: “The operation was designed to show locals Saddam’s men are not in charge.
“We need to get the message across that we mean business and will not rest until towns like Al Zubayr are free.”
At least one wounded Iraqi was taken prisoner in the town — a key gateway to Iraq’s second city of Basra. Allied commanders were determined to neutralise Saddam’s cohorts there following the sniper killing of a British soldier.
The crackdown came hours after two British Harrier jets flattened the Basra HQ of Saddam’s Ba’ath Party — where countless Iraqis have been killed and tortured.
A British Paveway III missile — guided by a Global Positioning Satellite — was used for the first time in the war as sandstorms continued to rage in the area.
It scored a direct hit. Wing Commander Andy Suddards said the strike would show Basra’s citizens that the rebellion they staged on Tuesday was not in vain.
He said: “It was a way of saying to the rioters on the streets of Basra that the Ba’ath Party is not a threat to them any more.”
Last night Desert Rat tanks, troops and artillery had surrounded Basra on the north, west and southern flanks.
Our Boys on the outskirts of the city were confirmed to be involved in “streetfighting” as they hunted Saddam’s militia.
Infantry units were supported by Challenger II battle tanks. British Army spokesman Colonel Chris Vernon said: “The war is entering a phase where we are seizing tactical opportunities.
“Aggressive patrols are being mounted across all the territory controlled by 7th Armoured Brigade. As soon as we see targets we are taking them on.”
The search and destroy missions came as details emerged of the desperate plight of Basra’s people.
Although many of Saddam’s militiamen have fled, thousands of regular troops supported by fanatical Fedayeen guerillas and led by Republican Guard officers remained holed up there. It was the savage tactics of these diehards which sparked Tuesday’s rebellion.
Citizens fought back with anything to hand as Saddam’s brutes kidnapped neighbours to be used as human shields. A source at the Iraqi National Congress, which is opposed to Saddam and has contacts in Basra, said: “It was a spontaneous uprising. People were being dragged out of their houses to be used as human shields.
“The fighting was hand-to-hand with knives and axes being used. We have also heard buildings where it was suspected the Fedayeen were based were set on fire.”
Iraqi troops shelled their own people — and were in turn targeted by British artillery.
Meanwhile, with a chronic shortage of fresh water, families in Basra have been getting supplies from ditches and puddles. A witness said: “The situation looked desperate. I saw families scooping up water in buckets from puddles and ditches from storms the night before. Others were pouring it into wheelbarrows.”
British troops are desperate to clear out Saddam’s fanatics so supplies and other aid can get through.
A 16-man team of engineers sent in by the Red Cross did succeed in partially restoring water from pumping stations knocked out of action.
But two-thirds of the city’s two million inhabitants were still thirsty.
Experts from the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers are on standby to fix the city’s water and electricity supplies once it is safe for them to go in.
Lance Corporal Kelvin Redshaw, 27, from Sunderland, said yesterday: “I’m looking forward to helping get the people of Iraq up off their knees.”
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