Triumphant Royal Marine commandos yesterday mopped
                    up the final traces of resistance in the south of Basra after
                    the success of the first urban infantry assault of the war
                    by British troops.

                    Under cover from smoke shells fired by British gunners, troops
                    from Delta Company of 40 Commando renewed the assault
                    at first light, attacking two enemy positions, known by
                    military planners using the operation's James Bond theme
                    as Pussy and Galore.

                    Attempts by Iraqi troops to flee from the British advance over
                    the Shatt Al-Arab waterway were confounded when two
                    boats crammed with soldiers were attacked by mortars and
                    helicopter-borne missiles.

                    By midday some sort of normality had returned to the
                    riverside suburb of Abu Al Khasib and Royal Marine foot
                    patrols were already deployed Northern Ireland-style,
                    looking for Saddam loyalists.

                    They received a warm welcome from the members of the
                    30,000-strong population, with children and adults giving
                    the thumbs-up, smiling and shouting "Mister, mister,
                    England good".

                    One surprised Royal Marine said: "We were meant to be
                    giving them food but they keep coming up to us and
                    giving us stuff."

                    The success of Operation James may now embolden senior commanders to order
                    a full advance on the heart of Basra, a city believed to be controlled by a desperate pro-Saddam minority.

                    While there were some Royal Marine casualties from accidents in the battle
                    for Abu Al Khasib, none was caused by enemy fire. Looking
                    at the devastation around the town, that seemed astonishing.

                    Under plumes of black smoke from two burning oil
                    tankers, more than 10 destroyed Iraqi tanks could be
                    seen in one stretch of road alone.

                    Each had been stopped in its tracks, its thick steel armour
                    peeled open. There did not appear to be any Iraqi dead
                    inside, but plenty of hastily removed uniforms were
                    strewn here and there.

                    "It looks like the crews got out before the tanks were
                    actually engaged," Brig Jim Dutton, the commander of 3
                    Commando Brigade, said.

                    "That says something I suppose about the level of
                    commitment from the enemy we face."

                    Reinforced trenches and earthworks had been built to the
                    south of the town where it faces the salty, marsh flats of
                    the Faw peninsula.

                    But no matter how elaborate the Iraqi tank positions,
                    nothing could stop 600 Royal Marines from 40 Commando
                    advancing on foot in the early hours of Sunday supported
                    by tanks, artillery and air power.

                    The 105mm light guns of 29 Commando Regiment, Royal
                    Artillery, had fired an unprecedented barrage ahead of
                    the Royal Marines. Each of the eight guns from 8
                    Commando Battery fired more than 100 rounds, and their
                    gun pits out on the flats were each surrounded by a small
                    mountain of burnt brass shell cases.

                    On the roads within the town there were heaps of British
                    spent ammunition cases, each one telling part of the story
                    of the 14-hour battle for Abu Al Khasib. An Iraqi
                    anti-aircraft gun lay destroyed next to a bridge and
                    mortar impact splashes pockmarked the roads.

                    The Challenger 2 tanks from C Squadron the Royal Scots
                    Dragoon Guards were crucial to the battle. "Plenty of
                    rocket-propelled grenades were fired at our call signs but
                    they simply bounced off the armour," said Capt Fraser
                    McLeman, 26, from Stratford-upon-Avon, the leader of
                    one of the tank troops.

                    After the battle, there was a buzz of excitement among
                    the Royal Marines as groups exchanged stories. A
                    physical training instructor sergeant was generally
                    acclaimed after he was hit on his bullet-proof vest by
                    enemy fire. The shot shattered the heavy ceramic plate in
                    his vest but the sergeant continued to fight and even
                    killed his attacker.

                    One British armoured vehicle was attacked by 70
                    rocket-propelled grenades but it was not destroyed and
                    its occupants were unhurt.

                    A Royal Marine told of a grenade glancing off his helmet
                    and another told of how an Iraqi colonel driving a car with
                    a briefcase full of cash refused to stop and was shot dead.
                    "I didn't know what to do with the money so I gave it to
                    the kids, bundles of the stuff," the Royal Marine said.

                    For the Iraqis the arrival of the British also appeared to
                    be welcome news. British troops discovered evidence of
                    the brutality of the regime in a police station in the suburb
                    where they found what appeared to be a torture chamber.

                    "If any proof was needed of the nature of Saddam
                    Hussein's regime then things like this give it," Lt-Col
                    Gordon Messenger, the commanding officer of 40
                    Commando, said.

                    Local people were not yet in any mood to discuss the
                    past, but life appeared to be returning to some sort of
                    normality yesterday.

                    Shops opened, selling bags of spices and nuts, and at
                    least one bakery was producing fresh, unleavened bread
                    in a wood-fired oven.

                    The Royal Marines now patrolling the streets of the town
                    reported good relations with the local population, who
                    tipped them off on Sunday about an ambush being
                    prepared by Saddam loyalists. Using this information, the
                    British soldiers surprised their ambushers, killing three of
                    them.

                    For Col Messenger yesterday, there was only a residual
                    sense of pride in the performance of his men. "To the
                    layman the achievements in Abu Al Khasib of these men
                    might sound strange but I know them well and it came as
                    no surprise to me," he said. "Quite simply, they were
                    magnificent."
 

                      31 March 2003: Battle for streets of Basra

                      31 March 2003: Marines plan the siege of Basra

                      30 March 2003: Four miles into Basra, angry Iraqis stare at me in
                      disbelief

                      29 March 2003: Isolated Basra still a tough obstacle

                      28 March 2003: Thousands flee from Basra 

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