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| Iraq |
| Popular uprising in Basra |
| 2003-03-25 |
| Basra :: Richard Gaisford :: 1715GMT (Tuesday, 25 March) This is a most significant development this evening. There is a popular uprising in the city of Basra. People are rising up against the ruling Ba'ath regime, we are being told by military intelligence officers there that they have had enough. Iraqi soldiers in the city are actually firing mortar rounds on their own people. That is the information we are getting. FOLLOWUP: Here's the SkyNews story... Rioting is taking place in Basra by locals opposed to Saddam Hussein, reports say. Iraqi troops are reported to be firing on the rioters with mortars. British forces are firing back at the Iraqi positions, which are trying to crush the civilian uprising. The ruling Ba'ath Party HQ is reported to have been hit after two large explosion rocked the city centre.Reporter Richard Gaisford said 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. Earlier, about 20 of Saddam Hussein's henchmen were killed and a key party official captured in a night-time raid by British forces near Basra, British military sources said. Soldiers from the 7th Armoured Brigade raided a regional Ba'ath Party headquarters in Al Zubayr, near Basra, where there has been fierce resistance from Iraqi troops, the source said. They moved in on the complex in the early hours with the aim of capturing the high-ranking party figure. He was guarded by members of Saddam's Special Security Organisation and fanatical Fedayeen fighters loyal to the Iraqi president, the source at the Coalition Command HQ in Qatar said. The Desert Rats surrounded the building with Challenger 2 tanks before the lightning raid. As the British soldiers swooped, a fierce gunfight broke out and dozens of Iraqis were hit. There were no British casualties. The senior party figure, thought to be responsible for helping organise resistance in the Al Zubayr and Basra area, was successfully snatched and taken prisoner. |
| Posted by:A |
| #31 When I hear of these "elite" fighters, I can't help thinking of that scene from The Raiders of the Lost Ark. You know the one, where the mighty Arab fighter swings his sword around before Harrison Ford just pulls out a gun and shoots him. |
| Posted by: becky 2003-03-25 20:53:08 |
| #30 Dar, My local gangbangers are better equipped than these "elite" thugs and dress better, too. These guys are Uday's psycho youth groups who get to pretend they are capo's in Udays army. I think "small animal torturer" during youth is a prerequisite. They need to ferret out these "lost boys" and drive a stake through there hearts. |
| Posted by: Capsu78 2003-03-25 16:33:54 |
| #29 Mike--I've felt exactly the same way. Every time the media call the Republican Guard "elite", I snicker. They're nothing more than well-equipped thugs who can't even begin to compare to any US or UK line division, much less TRUE elites like Seals, SAS, Delta, and the like. |
| Posted by: Dar Steckelberg 2003-03-25 15:46:06 |
| #28 Fred: LOL on the hats comment! In all seriousness, calling a goon squad "elite" is an insult to real elite troops like the Rangers, or the Black Watch, or the Marines, or the Gurkhas. (You don't want someone like the Gurkhas mad at you--they have those long knives and they like to use them.) |
| Posted by: Mike 2003-03-25 15:18:45 |
| #27 As of this afternoon, this is the most detailed account I can find of what's going on in Basra. It's from ITV: British troops are said to be firing on Basra in support of a "popular uprising" against Saddam Hussein's troops by the people of Iraq's second city, according to military sources. Thousands of people took to the streets of the key strategic city in the early evening and began rampaging through areas heavily populated by known sympathisers of the country's regime. By nightfall dozens of buildings were on fire as the predominantly Shia Muslims of the south took their revenge after years of domination by Saddam Hussein's Sunni Muslim ruling Ba'ath party. Mortars were fired at rebels who took to the streets in support of Allied forces encircling the city on three fronts. The public revolt was one of the British force's main objectives and undercover intelligence officers have been working in the port city for weeks trying to foment exactly this kind of unrest. The disorder gave the troops of the 7th Armoured Brigade - the famous Desert Rats - the perfect opportunity to move into the city and take control of a battleground whose capture is vital to the allies. Earlier, British forces destroyed 20 Iraqi tanks as fighting intensified around the city. Scores of Iraqis are thought to have been killed. |
| Posted by: Patrick Phillips 2003-03-25 15:16:01 |
| #26 Thugs were mortering civilians Sadly, I'm sure one reason we are not going in, is so that when CNN does, it will be harder to insist that America was to blame for civilian the carnage. Not that they won't manage. |
| Posted by: becky 2003-03-25 15:14:57 |
| #25 Any Ba'ath S.O.B. masquerading in one of our uniforms should be shot as a spy if caught--the same thing we did to Skorzeny's men in the Bulge. |
| Posted by: Dar Steckelberg 2003-03-25 14:33:15 |
| #24 Latest from Sky News: Baath thugs are dressed as US troops and accepting surrender of Iraqi soldiers. Then taking them out and shooting them. I wondered where those uniforms went, this is one I had not thought of. Evil, but clever. |
| Posted by: Steve 2003-03-25 14:20:40 |
| #23 Last report from Basra said Thugs were mortering civilians,and Brits were lobing in artillery shells at those locations. This thing may have been orchestrated I can envision Special Ops in Basra spending the afternoon painting target locations, setting off a couple of big booms at sundown at Bathe Party HQ, and saying "Let's get this party started"... and invite others out onto the dance floor. Reports say Brits won't go in until morning. It should be a chaotic night for the dead enders. Smoke, sandstorms, chaos in the streets, tar and feather parties forming, no place to hide for bad guys...a virtual wet dream for SF. |
| Posted by: Capsu78 2003-03-25 13:51:33 |
| #22 About time! They finally connected the dots and realized that, as long as these assholes were running things, they couldn't get humanitarian aid. They decided they weren't going to buy the argument: I am not responsible for the suffering you are feeling because I am fighting the invaders who would relieve you of that suffering. Grab the bastards and hang them high! |
| Posted by: Ptah 2003-03-25 13:24:24 |
| #21 This is the most encouraging news since Friday, in my opinion. If the Shi'as come to see us as liberators and recognize that we're serious about deposing Saddam, this could free up a lot of security for our logistics and rear areas for the main event up north. |
| Posted by: Dar Steckelberg 2003-03-25 13:17:29 |
| #20 The press has been gleefully reporting the lack of "cheering in the streets". They'll be so sad to see anything like this. |
| Posted by: Anonymous 2003-03-25 13:01:06 |
| #19 Yosemite Sam , I agree . oppression sucks bad - maybe the civs are seeing that we aint that bad bear saddam has made us to be over 30 years of hard times . one fight is all it takes to get the courage to over run a maniac |
| Posted by: Biggus 2003-03-25 12:53:00 |
| #18 Cnn says it's true. |
| Posted by: raptor 2003-03-25 12:52:48 |
| #17 glitch? perhaps the above was too detailed. Do the baddies read Rantburg?? Should the above post be deleted? ( I wont take it personally) |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2003-03-25 12:35:00 |
| #16 Mr. Gaisford's postings no longer appear on the BBC reporters weblog ("war diaries") though they are still reporting the uprising. A technical glitch, or something else? |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2003-03-25 12:33:01 |
| #15 Using shields just might have pushed them over the edge. They know we're staying this time. |
| Posted by: Anonymous 2003-03-25 12:30:38 |
| #14 more from the BBC " Basra :: Richard Gaisford :: 1753GMT The people have risen up against Saddam Hussein's regime and the Iraqi soldiers who are still within the city are starting to fire mortars upon their own countrymen. Artillery is going in to try to destroy these mortar positions - they have special radar equipment which can trace exactly where it is coming from. As quickly as the mortar rounds come off, they are then piling artillery in. In the last few minutes we have heard they have dropped a large bomb on the ruling Ba'ath party headquarters. Two large explosions were heard. We were told the headquarters had been destroyed. We had thought that troops would be going into the city tonight. But it may be they will wait until first light to see when the situation is clearer." Yes, Bulldog, that what I was suspecting, though Im not certain they are related. 11A5s has a good point. |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2003-03-25 12:23:51 |
| #13 Now I understand why we haven't taken down the Iraqi media. The Iraqis wouldn't rise up until they knew that we were willing to shed Yankee and Brit blood. Now they know, thanks to Saddam and his thugs. |
| Posted by: 11A5S 2003-03-25 12:21:51 |
| #12 Mike, It's the hats. You can't be an "elite Fedayeen" without a hat. |
| Posted by: Fred 2003-03-25 12:18:02 |
| #11 Slightly OT, but why does the media insist on calling the Saddamite goon squads things like "Saddam Hussein's elite Fedayeen paramilitary force?" There's nothing "elite" about a bunch of street thugs with AK-47s. |
| Posted by: Mike 2003-03-25 12:14:37 |
| #10 It's ironic that the BBC has still got an article up entitled "Basra: Why they are not cheering?" http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/2884769.stm |
| Posted by: A 2003-03-25 12:05:41 |
| #9 Fox was just carrying Sky News coverage of this. Baath Party HQ was bombed, US and UK forces are trying to help, but hindered by darkness. Tough to seperate good guys from bad guys in the dark. |
| Posted by: Steve 2003-03-25 11:58:19 |
| #8 This brings to mind the one way that Saddam has left for increasing the tempo... Gassing civilians. If that were to start, I'd hope that our military would conclude that the best way to minimize civilian losses would be to remove the kid gloves. |
| Posted by: Dishman 2003-03-25 11:54:58 |
| #7 Maybe this answers liberlhawk's suspicions earlier. Iraqi armour moving out of Basra because they were feeling the heat from the populace. Heck, maybe they even had their turrets turned away, trying to surrender at speed to the relatively friendly infidels, whilst simultaneously covering their rear from rolling-pin wielding housewives. |
| Posted by: Bulldog 2003-03-25 11:52:29 |
| #6 I really hope this spreads. Keep your fingers crossed. |
| Posted by: Yosemite Sam 2003-03-25 11:52:10 |
| #5 Huge News!!! |
| Posted by: Anonymous 2003-03-25 11:49:49 |
| #4 We need for this to happen. This could be the story of the day, if the "dead-enders" can't put it down. I see the story is being reported now on CNN radio |
| Posted by: Capsu78 2003-03-25 11:47:55 |
#3 Fascinating... I was just about the post the following, from AP:British to Fight Militia Forces in Basra |
| Posted by: Fred 2003-03-25 11:46:13 |
| #2 Verrry interesting, if it's true. Maybe they've finally realized we're staying this time. Can't say I blame them for being skeptical. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2003-03-25 11:43:57 |
| #1 It's from the BBC reporters weblog. |
| Posted by: growler 2003-03-25 11:43:51 |