| Siege of U.K. bases in Basra | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Post-invasion Iraq | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
| United Kingdom Denmark |
Mahdi Army | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Muqtada al-Sadr
Wissam Abu Qader † |
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| Strength | |||||||
| 6,200 | unknown | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 32 killed (UK) 1 killed (DK)[2] |
unknown | ||||||
The Siege of U.K. bases in Basra was conducted and maintained by the Mahdi Army in Basra for most of 2007. Following the reported success of the coalition operation codenamed Sinbad, which purpose was to stabilise Basra and prepare it for the turning over of security to Iraqi government forces, the city was overrun by insurgent forces from three different militia forces, including the Mahdi Army, and the British found themselves under siege in their bases and capable of conducting only limited raids in armored convoys into the city.
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By this point in the war there were only two British bases left in Basra. One was on the outskirts of the city at the Basra airport with a garrison of 5,000 soldiers. The second, which took most of the brunt of the fighting, was in the city center at Basra Palace, a former palace of Saddam Hussein, with a garrison of 700 soldiers.[3]
The first British soldier that was killed in the city, following operation Sinbad, was killed on February 27. The airport base was being constantly hit by mortar and rocket fire during the siege but the Basra City battlegroup at the palace was involved in most of the fighting. The Uti Triangle, a flat zone combining open wasteland, marsh and clustered buildings, was being used by the Mahdi army to conduct the mortar and rocket attacks on both the airport and the palace. More than 300 rockets hit the airport in the two months between June and August. Sniper attacks were also a deadly and common occurrence for British soldiers as well as IED attacks on patrols that were going out of the bases. The IED attacks and organised ambushes also hit convoys from the airport that were transporting needed food, fuel, ammunition and other equipment for the palace. Convoys were primarily used for this task because helicopters couldn't be used because of the high risk of being shot down.[3][4]
The Danish contingent of 470 soldiers were coming under attack and by August 2, the Danish army withdrew from Iraq.[5]
On September 3, under the cover of darkness and without any media attention, the British withdrew their troops from Basra Palace to the airport, leaving their last foothold they had in the city. Basra was left to the militias.[6]
Following the withdrawal the U.K. was heavily criticized for pulling back from the city, mostly by the U.S. military.[1] Formally the cities control was handed over to Iraqi security forces, but the control of the city was in the hands of radical militias. They led a turf war in the coming months over control of the city and up to 100 people, mostly civilians, were being reported killed each month. A black market monopoly formed over the oil exports from the city.
By the end of March 2008, the situation in the city was so out of hand that it led to an Iraqi troop surge into the city which led to major fighting with the militias.
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