GULF WAR II: SHOCK TACTICS: BATTLE FOR BASRA

ALLIED troops won the first major set-piece battle of the war yesterday as they took the suburbs of Basra - and moved fighting to the centre of the city.

A full-scale exchange of tank fire was being joined in Iraq's second city as twilight fell.

""The enemy has been defeated outside the west of Basra," US Marine captain Andrew Bergen told Reuters. ""There are plenty of prisoners, I'd say hundreds."

British troops have been given the task of caring for the PoWs.

More than 100 British tanks from the 7th Armoured Brigade advanced along the road towards Basra earlier in the afternoon.

As they made their way north, a huge pall of grey smoke rose over the city, clearly visible from 20 miles away.

"We are attacking Iraqi forces, all of which are west of Basra," Capt Bergen confirmed. "I would certainly describe it as a major battle." As he spoke, massive explosions could be heard. As the British made their way towards the city, along Highway 80, they came under Iraqi artillery fire. Cobra attack helicopters could be seen circling overhead.

Allied troops had an early success when they captured the airport to the north of the city. It was by no means a walk-over. They encountered resistance from Iraqi soldiers in armoured personnel carriers.

Three Marines were wounded when a man in civilian clothes fired a rocket-propelled grenade at a tank support vehicle. Artillery laid down a huge barrage in the hope that troops defending Basra would have their will broken.

Intelligence indicated that most army units have fled the city. But Saddam's notorious Fedayeen, a paramilitary group that wears white jump suits and is run by the Iraqi leader's son Uday, are believed to be in the city.

In his first news briefing, coalition commander Tommy Franks said he would be happy to work with the city's civilian population. The Arabic language TV news channel Al-Jazeera, which has a correspondent in Basra, said that 50 civilians had been killed in the bombardment, including an eight-year-old boy who had been decapitated. The report could not be confirmed.

One of Basra's bridges fell early in the assault, but the Iraqis were still holding others and jets bombed tanks positioned on them.

As the US Marines moved northwards, the fight for Basra was left to British troops. A British spokesman confirmed that forces were closing in but were trying to negotiate a "peaceful surrender".

As the advance towards the city - 340 miles south of Baghdad - gathered pace, "high hundreds" of Iraqi troops were surrendering along the roadside.

The road was dotted with the skeletons of Iraqi tanks. Over some deserted barracks white flags fluttered. At one barracks, Iraqis emerged to surrender, stumbling across a rutted field.

Elsewhere groups of Iraqi men in civilian clothes stood near the highway. Allied officers believed they were Iraqi soldiers who had fled their barracks and changed out of their uniforms. Passing in the opposite direction to the allied troops came the first wave of refugees from Basra. Some of the city's two million population had fled on foot. Many gave a "thumbs up" sign to soldiers in tanks.

Basra is dominated by the Shia Muslims who are largely hostile to Saddam. They suffered reprisals for staging a failed rebellion after the first Gulf War in 1991.

It is a major prize for the allies. It is a port and oil pipeline terminal at the heart of Iraq's southern oilfields. The largest of these, Rumeila, produces 1.3million barrels a day - almost half of Iraq's capacity. It is also the birthplace of Sinbad the Sailor - a hero of Arab literature.

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