GWT: WRAP Dramatic footage of battle for Basra suburb, British artillery

(31 Mar 2003)

Night vision:
1. Various of bright lights flashing as guns and mortars fire
2. Wide of shots coming from jeep and other Royal Marines' vehicles
3. Wide shot of fire-fight with soldier in vehicle with gun in foreground
4. Coalition vehicle in convoy on road
5. Wide of bright lights of ammunition from the fire fight passing through the shot
6. Vehicles on road, fire-fight in background
7. fire-fight, troops on vehicles in foreground
8. Two jeeps on road, flares from mortars falling in background
9. UPSOUND (English) "Get them out now, get them all out."
10. Tilt up of marine firing flare, mortar and gunshot into the air
11. Marine behind sand bank

Night vision:
12. Shot of Royal Marine firing automatic weapon
13. Marine in foreground, manoeuvering tanks behind him
14. Convoy of vehicles with flashes of light from fire-fight passing through shot
15. Marine firing several flares

Daylight shots:
16. Tracking shot with ruins of houses, plumes of black smoke on landscape, passing a wrecked and burnt Iraqi tank by road
17. A second wrecked tank by roadside
18. Third tank behind a sand bank, smoking after fire
19. Wide of several burnt vehicles, including a tank, one vehicle is still in flames
20. Wide of a group of Iraqi men with hands in air, one waving a makeshift white flag, walking towards marines (off camera) through palm trees
21. Wide of same group of men walking, burning tank in background, several plumes of smoke
22. Close up of hands in air
23. Wide of marine searching Iraqi man
24. Marines carrying injured Iraqi on stretcher to field ambulance
25. Group of Iraqi villagers, some waving to camera
26. Wide of marines walking through palm trees by buildings

Daylight shots:
27. British Challenger tank moving in to position
28. British soldiers blow up building containing Iraqi weapons cache

Daylight shots:
British frontline, north west of Basra
29. Various of British artillery pieces firing
30. British soldier runs for cover in foxhole as Iraqi fire comes in
31. Various of British artillery pieces firing
32. Various of mobile British 155mm guns on the move

STORYLINE:
British Royal Marines entered the southern Basra neighbourhood of Abu al Khasib after 15 hours of fighting overnight from Sunday to Monday.

In their biggest offensive so far in Iraq, 600 Royal Marines from 40 Commando took up a "consolidation position" before an expected push towards the Shatt-al-Arab waterway on Monday.

The British say an Iraqi force was trapped when a group of British Marines also moved into an area to the east of Abu al Khasib.

Iraqi defenders in bunker positions fired on the marines during the operation which began at 0200 GMT.

The British named the mission "Operation James" after the fictional spy character James Bond.

It also involved a back up force of two tank squadrons and commando-trained Royal Engineers.

The British say several hundred soldiers in three rifle companies advanced on foot at dawn towards the Shatt-al-Arab waterway.

Throughout Monday morning, plumes of dark smoke rose from wrecked and burning Iraqi tanks, buildings and the landscape were pock-marked with the evidence of the prior night's fire-fight.

By Monday afternoon British guns on the front line north west of Basra were firing repeatedly.

The British army said that during Monday it had destroyed 25 Iraqi tanks, 12 gun positions, armoured cars and Iraqi infantry.

It was also moving up larger 155mm mobile guns with a range of 25 kilometres (15 miles)


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