LONDON (AFX) - British troops have
met "stiff resistance" from Iraqi forces outside the
southern port town of Umm Qasr, said Defence Secretary
Geoff Hoon.
He told BBC that this resistance was a reminder that
no-one should expect the war to be over in a short space
of time.
Hoon's comments contradict reports overnight that
allied forces had captured Umm Qasr, which is of
strategic importance as it would allow them to establish
a front to move on to the town of Basra, key to securing
Iraq's southern oilfields.
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