MoD Information

UK Troops Fight on 2 Fronts

Thu, April 03, 2003

Source: Ananova News

British troops are fighting on two levels in a bid to secure the city of Basra, a military spokesman has announced

British troops are fighting on two levels in a bid to secure the city of Basra, a military spokesman has announced. Colonel Chris Vernon said Allied forces needed to exploit the difference between the local population and the militia.

The irregular forces must be isolated - "we must, in short, remove them from the community," he said.
He added: "In the Basra province, our British forces are operating against two types of opposition - Iraq's armed forces and irregular forces.

"We're conducting conventional warfare operations against the former and internal security counter insurgency operations against the latter."

He said battles against ordinary Iraqi forces were proving highly successful and combat forces were being destroyed "with purpose, agility, determination, discipline and endurance".