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Civil uprising reported in Basra
LONDON, England (CNN) -- A popular uprising against the ruling Baath Party was under way Tuesday in Iraq's second city Basra, British forces say. British gunners fired at Iraqi troops in the southern city who attempted to suppress the revolt with mortar fire, said Richard Gaisford, a reporter for the British television network ITN. UK troops and tanks were maneuvering under the cover of darkness near the city and were preparing to enter Basra if commanders ordered the move, ITV reporters Juliet Bremner and Romilly Weeks said. Bremner said commanders told her they had seen groups of 40 to 50 citizens at various locations on the streets. Iraqi Information Minister Mohamed Saeed al Sahaf told the Arabic television network Al Jazeera that there was no revolt under way. Earlier Tuesday, British troops seized a senior Baath Party leader from his offices in Az Zubayr, southwest of Basra, said British military spokesman Colonel Chris Vernon. He added that the swiftly conducted raid was meant to inspire Basra's civilian population into turning against Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's government. Gaisford, with the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, said: "Iraqi forces are firing mortar rounds on protesters who are protesting against the Baath Party. "British forces are massing on the outskirts of Basra waiting to go in. It appears that the people of Basra have had enough of Saddam Hussein's regime and are rising up against the regime." About 1,000 irregulars of the Iraqi army are estimated to be holed up in Basra, where resistance to the allied advance has been stubborn. The Saddam Fedayeen militia, dressed in civilian clothes, is also in the city and firing toward the British. There are reports that the Fedayeen, on the outskirts of Basra, are resisting with human shields in front of them. Vernon said British forces also killed 20 irregulars in the swiftly conducted raid. He added: "We're seizing tactical opportunities as they occur." British troops turned back a "battalion-sized" counterattack by Iraqi forces Tuesday southeast of Basra and destroyed about 20 armored vehicles, a British military spokesman said. Earlier, British officials said that Basra, a city of 1.7 million people which has been without electricity and water for two days, is now a "legitimate military target," with the aim of providing humanitarian relief. The residents of Basra, an important center of Iraq's Shiite population, staged an uprising after the 1991 Gulf War. But without backup from any of the coalition forces that had driven Saddam's regime out of Kuwait, hundreds of thousands were killed. Previously in the current war, the allied coalition wanted to avoid fighting inside Basra. But some of the Iraqi 51st Division, which was defending areas south of the city, have pulled back into Basra with artillery, tanks and infantry. (Full story) Meanwhile the U.S. Army's 3-7th Cavalry leading edge crossed the Euphrates in a sandstorm, opening a line of troops moving north towards Baghdad from Basra. UK Prime Minister Tony Blair said Tuesday a "huge amount" had been achieved toward the goal of ousting Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. (Full story) Blair said humanitarian aid was a key objective and added: "So far, over the five days, the progress on the way to Baghdad has been exactly what we planned." British military officials say the key Iraqi port of Umm Qasr is now "fully secure" and that aid will be able to enter Iraq "in the near future." (Full story) Blair will fly to America for strategy talks with U.S. President George W. Bush on Wednesday. Blair and Bush will spend the night at the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland, then hold formal talks on Thursday. (Full story) In other developments: • Russian President Vladimir Putin told Bush that Russian companies are not supplying sensitive military equipment to Iraq. (Full story) • There was heavy fighting for a second straight night in the southern city of Nasiriya, where U.S. Marines met heavy Iraqi resistance. A severe sandstorm slowed the battle after sunrise Tuesday. (Full story) • Coalition planes stepped up the bombing campaign in northern Iraq Tuesday, targeting the key northern city of Mosul for the fourth successive night. (Full story) • Iraqi Trade Minister Muhammad Mahdi al-Salih Tuesday blamed U.S. and Britain for holding up U.N. shipments of food and medical supplies. (Full story) • U.S. intelligence reports suggest the Iraqi Republican Guard may have been ordered to use chemical weapons against U.S. forces if they cross a "red line" around Baghdad. (Full story) • The U.S. Navy will bring in trained dolphins this week to hunt for seaborne mines in the waters around Umm Qasr, Navy officials say. • Bush has given key American lawmakers the administration's first estimate of the cost of war with Iraq -- about $75 billion, officials said. (Full story) EDITOR'S NOTE: CNN's policy is to not report information that puts operational security at risk.
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