Desert Rats pull out of Basra
Elements of Britain's Seventh Armoured Brigade, the Desert Rats, withdrew from the southern Iraqi city the nation's second largest after coming under attack by mortars and guerrillas disguised in civilian clothes.
The brigade had at one point surrounded the city. Military officials admitted they had vastly underestimated the strength of Iraqi resistance and the loyalty of Basra's population to the regime of 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.
