A tank battle raged in the early hours of yesterday morning outside Basra, as British forces responded to an Iraqi counter-attack to take control of key areas south of the city, writes Jack Fairweather outside Basra
A total of 70 Iraqi tanks of the 6th armoured division were discovered to be moving towards British positions on the western bank of the Shatt al-Basra, which has marked the most northerly advance of British troops into Iraq.
They were immediately engaged by an aerial bombardment by the allied air forces before a squadron of tanks belonging to the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards staged a bridging operation across the waterway to begin the first tank encounter of the war so far.
After an hour's intense fighting, 14 Iraqi tanks had been destroyed, along with a number of armoured personnel carriers, with the remainder in flight back to Basra.
Brig Graham Binns, commander of the 7th armoured brigade to which the Dragoon Guards belong, said: "The fighting was intense but we have prevailed."
The encounter marked a turning point in what had been a concerted fightback by Iraqi forces.
The remainder of 6th armoured division north of Basra near the town of al-Qurnah had been moving into position, possibly to support elements of its battle group further south.
They have now been pushed back again by exploratory British forces pushing home the advantage.
In Basra itself, militia groups driving white pick-up trucks carrying heavy machine guns had also been reported to be massing in the centre.
Intensely loyal to Saddam Hussein, they are seen as the biggest threat to any force that might enter the city in the coming days.
To counter the militia, British headquarters have given orders for anyone driving at night to be shot at, following information passed on that a curfew had been imposed on the city and outlying regions by the Iraqi authorities - although British officers have so far been reluctant to implement the order for fear of harming civilians.
On Tuesday, militia groups are thought to have executed a number of army officers belonging to the 51st division stationed in the city who had wanted to surrender, as many of their number had done in the opening days of the campaign.
Artillery was detected being fired by the officers before British intelligence indicated the brief revolt had been quelled.
"It must be pretty hellish in there at the moment," said one British officer.
"We know that the people and much of the army want to revolt but that they are just waiting for a sign from us."
Basra has been effectively surrounded since the first day of the war, but senior British officers say all the elements for entering the city are not yet in place.