USWAR/Continuous air raids and ground battles in Basra
Shalamcheh, March 31, IRNA -- Widespread assaults by British forces backed by American and British helicopters in Basra have been underway in the second largest Iraqi city of Basra since Monday morning. The British forces launched their attacks by using light tanks, which are more convenient to overcome local obstacles, while the helicopters kept firing without interruption. According to the reports released by IRNA on Monday, given that the artillery fire is visible and the consecutive explosions are heard at the `No Man's Area' in Shalamcheh, where its reporters are embedded, the ongoing conflicts are appraised as quite heavy. The British troops are attempting to break into Basra by targeting the city's defense lines. Basra has been under siege by American and British forces for the past week and has been subject to several air raids as well as missile and artillery attacks. Two main bridges over the Tigris River, the Khaled and Zobeir, providing a connecting path to the city of Basra, were reported to have been taken over by coalition forces, while heavy clashes were still underway in the surrounding area by the time this development was reported. Simultaneous conflicts between the British and the Iraqi forces along the Zobeir-Basra road were reported, but no details were released.