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Campaign
overview
Mass
grave sites
Baghdad

 

Basra and the south:

  • US and UK forces headed towards Basra from Kuwait at the start of the campaign. Within days, troops had secured the port of Umm Qasr

  • Coalition forces were reported to have secured Iraq's southern oilfields by 22 March, but troops took a lot longer to push into Basra

  • UK troops surrounded Basra for about a fortnight, exchanging fire with forces inside, before the 7th Armoured Brigade and 3 Commando Brigade finally stormed the city in two waves on 6 April, taking control of most of it

  • They moved into the old part of the city the next day, and spent the ensuing days consolidating their hold on Basra

  • Iraqi commander Ali Hassan al-Majid - known as Chemical Ali - is believed to have died in Basra
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