The war has started

national | miscellaneous | news report Wednesday March 19, 2003 20:09 by This is London

This is LONDON 19/03/03 - War on Iraq section By Robert Fox, Defence Correspondent and David Taylor, Evening Standard British and American troops were involved in fierce fighting near Iraq's main port today as the war to topple Saddam Hussein began. The firefight broke out near Basra as men of the Special Boat Service targeted the strategically vital city and the oilfields in southern Iraq. At the same time allied troops were flooding into the demilitarised zone on the Iraqi border with Kuwait 40 miles away to take up positions for an all-out invasion.