British troops advanced rapidly into Basra yesterday, effectively seizing control of Iraq's second city.
Code-named Operation Sinbad, a three-pronged attack led by the 7th Armoured Brigade - the Desert Rats - and 3 Commando Brigade moved in on the poorly organised Iraqi defences.
Meeting little co-ordinated resistance, the British gained control of the north, west and southern sides of the strategically important city by early evening. Iraqi militia and regular soldiers wearing civilian clothing continued to launch sporadic attacks on British positions through the night but these were easily repelled.
The assault on Basra was by far the most significant move of the war by the British and represented the start of the final battle for complete control of southern Iraq. It very nearly went wrong though after a Black Watch Regiment patrol in the early hours of the morning pushed too far into western Basra and found itself engaged with the enemy.
It meant that the operation, which should have been launched in the early hours of this morning, had to be brought forward 24 hours. For several hours the Challenger 2 tanks supporting the Black Watch, backed up by the swooping aerial menace of two US Cobra attack helicopters, pounded Iraqi positions.
At the same time, 3 Commando Brigade launched an attack from the south, which was deliberately designed as a feint to draw Iraqi attention away from the main battle effort in the north.
Within minutes, two enemy T-55 tanks had been destroyed and the British march into Basra was only delayed for a short while by a minefield swiftly cleared by the Royal Engineers.
Moving through the imposing city gates, the column turned north heading for its first and main objective, the city's university. Intelligence reports and reconnaissance patrols had pinpointed the sprawling complex - and the neighbouring naval academy - as the two centres used by the Iraqi army and local militia.
Maj Duncan McSporran, officer commanding Zulu Company, said: "We had an American unit attached to us and a loudspeaker was hooked up to their vehicle warning anyone inside the university buildings to surrender. No one came forward and it appeared the place was empty so we moved on to our second objective, which was to seize the northern end of the naval academy and join up with Y Company."
An allied casualty came when, in the confusion of battle, an infantryman from Y Company strayed into Zulu Company's area of operation. Despite warnings not to fire, a Challenger 2 twice opened machine-gun fire on its own soldier who was eventually rescued by medics. His condition remains unknown.
The US military says it has found the body of a bodyguard of Iraqi commander Ali Hassan al-Majeed, nicknamed "Chemical Ali", at a house in Basra, which was bombed on Saturday. They were checking to see if Chemical Ali was a casualty.