BASRA (AFX) - A US warplane dropped
1,000-pound satellite-guided J-Dam bombs on military
sites hidden in civilian buildings in Basra as British
forces battled to take control of the city, British
officers reported.
They said the bombs, released by a US F-18 Super
Hornet warplane, targeted a large ammunition dump
containing weapons, shells and other munitions, as well
as a building thought to be used by Iraqi fighters still
defending Iraq's second-largest city.
The decision to drop J-Dams marked an escalation of
the assault on Basra, British military analysts said.
British commanders attempting to secure the city had
previously refrained from ordering attacks directly into
Basra to avoid alienating its large Shia Muslim
population, which rose up against Saddam in 1991 and is
believed to be broadly hostile to the Iraqi leader.
Separately Iraqi satellite television reported that
Iraqi forces shot down an unmanned US spy plane over
Basra Tuesday.
It showed pictures of a drone on the ground
surrounded by dozens of Iraqis.
rk/mb/hjp
