Basra, Mar 24: Fierce Iraqi resistance forced British troops to withdraw today from Basra to regroup, British military officials said. Elements of Britain's Seventh Armoured Brigade, the 'Desert Rats', withdrew from the southern Iraqi city after coming under attack by guerrillas disguised in civilian clothes. The brigade had at one point surrounded the city. Military officials admitted they had vastly underestimated the strength of Iaqi resistance and the loyalty of Basra's population to the regime of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. "We're currently taking stock of the situation. We were expecting a lot of hands up from Iraqi soldiers and for the humanitarian operation in Basra to begin fairly quickly behind us, with aid organisations providing food and water to the locals," Captain Patrick Trueman said. "But it hasn't quite worked out that way. "There are significant elements in Basra who are hugely loyal to the regime."
US and British forces were having a tough time taming Iraqi resistance in the country's southeast, outside Basra and the key deep-water port of Umm Qasr.
Military planners had expected little resistance in the region because they thought the Shiite Muslim majority long repressed by the Sunnis from the north would be glad to be rid of Saddam. "We always had the idea that everyone in this area hated Saddam. Clearly, there are a number who don't," Trueman said.
The decision to withdraw came after British units came under fierce mortar fire as they blocked the main routes into the city from the north and south. Bureau Report