Desert Rats in daring raid
The Desert Rats killed 20 of Saddam Hussein's most fanatical followers in a daring raid, it was revealed today.
The men of Zulu Company of the Royal Fusiliers, part of the Desert Rats, launched a daring night-time attack on the local Ba'ath party headquarters in Basra in the most dramatic action yet by UK forces in the Gulf.
The men later posed proudly with a trophy of war, a painting of Saddam Hussein.
A few hours later the southern port of Umm Qasr was declared "safe and open" after days of street fighting. Umm Qasr will allow the Allies to land vital humanitarian aid with the first shipment expected within 36 hours.
The drama involving the Desert Rats took place in Zubayr, seen as a hotbed of resistance led by Ba'ath party loyalists.
A mixed force of Desert Rats and Royal Marines stormed a building identified as the Ba'ath party's key regional headquarters in the early hours of today.
They killed 20 Ba'ath party officials, Special Security Organisation members and Fedayeen fighters, Saddam's personal militia.
A senior Ba'ath party official was taken prisoner and is to be questioned on his knowledge of the resistance effort in and around Basra.
The commander of British forces in the Gulf, Air Marshal Brian Burridge, promising similar actions in the future.
He said: "We made it quite clear to them that we, the British Armed Forces are up for this and you are going to have a very hard time."
British forces now plan to use their expertise of operations in Bosnia and Kosovo to separate the Ba'athist regime from the local populace.
A senior military source said: "We want to split the oppressive regime away from the people who do not want to resist us. The local population are not interested in fighting."
