[uksupport1]

The situation in Southern Iraq seems to be very dangerous at the moment. From what I understand, however, 90% of the attacks are against British troops and there is little sectarian violence. The provinces handed back to the Iraqis by the British so far seem to be doing OK. It appears, though, that the reasonably small numbers of British troops in Iraq are having to fight hard.

[uksupport1]

It appears that British forces have lost another two guys in Iraq today.

RIP to all Coalition forces

[Steel Wolf]

Depends on what you call sectarian, I guess. I just left Basrah yesterday, and the Shia are basically disintigrating into a city wide power struggle that's somewhat Islamic militia, and somewhat organized crime. Having pulled out of the palace in town, the UK contingent is now sitting on the airfield west of town, and is taking heavy rocket fire on a daily (often hourly) basis.

I'm no stranger to indirect fire, but I was pretty impressed by the size of the incoming rockets, and the impunity with which said (Iranian supplied) rockets rain down on the encampment there. The Brits have devised some tough measures to minimize casualties, and are very stoic about the attacks. To be honest, after a few days of having to hit the deck, endure the salvos, and wait for the all clear, I was pretty well ready to be on my way.

I'm a big fan of Brit troops; they're smart, competent and tough. I've worked with them a number of times, and always enjoyed it. But in Basrah, they basically have both hands tied behind their backs, and that's no way to fight.

That's probably the lion's share of violence, as you said, and it is being directed at the UK forces on the airfield. Still, the situation in town is pretty grim, with various Shia factions struggling for power, and pretty much running amok. Since we no longer have much of a presence in town, it's hard to really say how much violence there is, but what we do know indicates that it's a bad scene and not likely to improve until one of the factions emerges victorious.

[Tallguy]

I am beginning to wonder if The Surge units, so effective in extending influence in Baghdad & Anbar Province, are going to get sucked in to policing Basrah as the Brits withdraw? This will effectively put an end to our offensive reserves & we’ll be right back where we started.

Maybe the smart thing to do would be to let the Shia fight it out & settle it among themselves — then deal with the winner.

[Blood of Tyrants]

Too bad the British people cannot muster the courage of their soldiers and throw off the yoke of socialism that is strangling them.