thedrifter
03-30-03, 09:31 AM
Royal Marine commandos have captured five Iraqi officers and killed a colonel of the Republican Guard in an attack on the outskirts of Basra, according to a British military official.
Following the dawn assault by British 3 Commando on the village of Abu al-Qassib - said to be a key Iraqi stronghold - British forces have reached the centre of the village as fighting continues, reports suggest.
The Royal Marines' aim is to clear an area to the south and south east of Iraq's second biggest city and hold that line rather than take Basra, according to BBC correspondent Andrew Harding, who is with coalition forces in southern Iraq.
Elsewhere Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon told the BBC the British troops would be replaced if the conflict continued for months.
Disorganised resistance
Andrew Harding said it was thought about 30 Iraqis were believed dead, with 30 prisoners of war captured in addition to the senior Iraqi officials in the operation on the outskirts of Basra.
Military spokesman Group Captain Al Lockwood said "aggressive patrolling" by the British military in and out of Basra continued.
He said: "A Republican Guard colonel has been killed and we have several other high-ranking prisoners."
He said military officials understood that throughout Iraq elements like this senior officer had been sent to strengthen Baath Party officers and paramilitary forces.
But he was upbeat the operation was going well and Iraqi resistance was disorganised.
"They are these illegal criminal elements who have decided they have no future in Iraq," he said.
Andrew Harding said the village assault - codenamed Operation James - by the Marines was likely to take all day.
Fuel supply struck
The British have been using artillery and tanks to pound Iraqi positions, taking out Iraqi tanks.
He said it was unclear whether or not the intention was to encourage rebellion from within.
In the Rumaila oil fields, another Baathist official has been captured by British forces as they continue their campaign to destroy Saddam Hussein's Baath party in Basra, said BBC correspondent Kylie Morris.
RAF Harrier pilots overnight claimed to have successfully attacked a fuel storage depot used by tank units of the Republican Guard outside Karbala, southwest of Baghdad.
Wing Commander Andy Suddards, who fired a missile, said: "The visibility was good and I saw the bang."
Troops review
Speaking on BBC1's Politics Show, Foreign Office Minister Mike O'Brien insisted the campaign in Iraq was "on track" and following consultations with military generals the government had no plans "at this point" to increase British forces in the Gulf.
But Mr Hoon told BBC Radio 4's The World This Weekend the commitment of 45,000 British troops would have to be reviewed once the conflict moved to a "different" phase.
The defence secretary said he had absolute confidence in the coalition's military strategy and it was "not possible" it would lose the war or be forced into a stalemate.
Sempers,
Roger
Following the dawn assault by British 3 Commando on the village of Abu al-Qassib - said to be a key Iraqi stronghold - British forces have reached the centre of the village as fighting continues, reports suggest.
The Royal Marines' aim is to clear an area to the south and south east of Iraq's second biggest city and hold that line rather than take Basra, according to BBC correspondent Andrew Harding, who is with coalition forces in southern Iraq.
Elsewhere Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon told the BBC the British troops would be replaced if the conflict continued for months.
Disorganised resistance
Andrew Harding said it was thought about 30 Iraqis were believed dead, with 30 prisoners of war captured in addition to the senior Iraqi officials in the operation on the outskirts of Basra.
Military spokesman Group Captain Al Lockwood said "aggressive patrolling" by the British military in and out of Basra continued.
He said: "A Republican Guard colonel has been killed and we have several other high-ranking prisoners."
He said military officials understood that throughout Iraq elements like this senior officer had been sent to strengthen Baath Party officers and paramilitary forces.
But he was upbeat the operation was going well and Iraqi resistance was disorganised.
"They are these illegal criminal elements who have decided they have no future in Iraq," he said.
Andrew Harding said the village assault - codenamed Operation James - by the Marines was likely to take all day.
Fuel supply struck
The British have been using artillery and tanks to pound Iraqi positions, taking out Iraqi tanks.
He said it was unclear whether or not the intention was to encourage rebellion from within.
In the Rumaila oil fields, another Baathist official has been captured by British forces as they continue their campaign to destroy Saddam Hussein's Baath party in Basra, said BBC correspondent Kylie Morris.
RAF Harrier pilots overnight claimed to have successfully attacked a fuel storage depot used by tank units of the Republican Guard outside Karbala, southwest of Baghdad.
Wing Commander Andy Suddards, who fired a missile, said: "The visibility was good and I saw the bang."
Troops review
Speaking on BBC1's Politics Show, Foreign Office Minister Mike O'Brien insisted the campaign in Iraq was "on track" and following consultations with military generals the government had no plans "at this point" to increase British forces in the Gulf.
But Mr Hoon told BBC Radio 4's The World This Weekend the commitment of 45,000 British troops would have to be reviewed once the conflict moved to a "different" phase.
The defence secretary said he had absolute confidence in the coalition's military strategy and it was "not possible" it would lose the war or be forced into a stalemate.
Sempers,
Roger