IRAQ. Basra. 04/03/2003.
British forces made further advances on Basra, taking a strategic target, the Basra technical institute, right on the southern edge of the city, previously to taking this position, pro Saddam militia had used it to fire RPG's and mortar rounds at the british forces. Today after this battle, the corpse of several dead pro Sadddam militia forces have been found laying next to the school with RPgG rocket launchers strewn around them. At one point during the day several peolple came to recover the body of the dead soldiers. An elder woman was present and one could assume from her emotion that she was a relative of the dead man. Until now there have been frequent artillery exchanges between the British and the pro Saddam militia. The pro Saddam militia have used mounted artillery pieces on mobile trucks firing from civilian neighbourhoods. This has seriously impeded the British advances as they would be obliged to level whole neighbourhoods in order to take out the enemy artillery; and the British have not been willing to risk such large casualties to civilians in order to accomplish thier mission.