British forces in Basra greeted with acceptance

BASRA, Iraq (AP) — British forces took control of the heart of Basra on Monday, met by few pockets of resistance and greeted by hundreds of people who shook their hands and welcomed them to Iraq’s second-largest city. Royal Marine commandos seized a vacant, pink-hued marble palace belonging to President Saddam Hussein. Elsewhere in the impoverished city, there was widespread looting in the city’s narrowing streets, and even reports of some retaliatory attacks by Iraqis against militiamen still loyal to Saddam.