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Sky News -- BASRA: ANTI-SADDAM RIOTS

Rioting is taking place in Basra by locals opposed to Saddam Hussein, reports say.

British forces are bombing Iraqi troops who are trying to crush the uprising, the reports say.

Reporter Richard Gaisford, who is with troops just west of Basra, said British intelligence officers there told him about the civil uprising.

They told him Saddam loyalists were firing on the rioters. They said UK troops responded by dropping a bomb on the ruling Ba'ath Party HQ. Two large explosions have been heard in the city centre.

Gaisford said the officers had earlier told him intelligence from the 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.

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.