The Fall of Basra. After more than two weeks of putting the southern Iraqi
city of Basra under military siege, the British Military took Basra April 7,
2003. For several days, British tanks made forays into Basra from the
outskirts of the town. British foot soldiers walked into the center of the
city and were greeted by huge crowds of Iraqis, in this traditional Shiite
Moslem City. In 1991, this was the scene of a major uprising after the last
Gulf War that lasted only a few days, only to be crushed by pro-Saddam
forces. Shortly after the arrival of the British troops inside Basra,
massive looting and chaos emerged.
