Second day of Basra violence kills three
The British patrolled in tanks as stone-throwing Iraqis went on the rampage in protest against fuel and power shortages, but a tense calm settled over Iraq’s second city by yesterday.
The violence was some of the worst in Iraq since Saddam Hussein was toppled by US-led forces on April 9 and occurred in a city at the heart of the mostly Shi’ite Muslim south, which has been relatively peaceful in the wake of his fall. Iraq’s majority Shi’ites were repressed under Saddam, a Sunni Muslim.
