BRITISH troops deliberately drove into the line of fire yesterday in a daring operation to identify the hideouts of the last remnants of Iraqi forces still fighting in Basra.

One senior officer described how they had made themselves targets for Iraqi snipers operating in a suburb of the city that British forces have nicknamed “mortar mile”.

Iraqi troops using rocket-propelled grenades fired at Irish Guards from only 60 yards, but all escaped without injury.

For more than a week there has been a dangerous stand-off on the outskirts of Iraq’s second city. Battle groups from the Desert Rats have been reluctant to put civilian lives at risk by launching an all-out onslaught. Last night Captain James Moulton, of the Irish Guards, who took part in the raid, said: “It was pretty fierce. There was a lot of whizzing around our heads and into the vehicles and we took a few direct hits. But we expected that.”

He pointed to two jagged scars on his Warrior armoured vehicle, where two rocket- propelled grenades had ricocheted off the side.

The Guards had hurtled along a two-mile stretch of road, knowing that they would be within easy range of their enemy.

“We knew we would be hit, but we pack a powerful punch, and the weapons we believed they had couldn’t really hurt us.

“We achieved a lot and now know how they operate, from where and what weapons they have,” he said.

Captain Moulton, 27, from Lymington, Hampshire, described their mission as “fire inspection”, testing the outer defences of the port city, which is still in the grip of gangs of Fedayin diehards and Baath party militia.

Leaning on his Warrior vehicle, Captain Moulton said: “In effect, we made ourselves targets, but it meant they were drawn in.

“There was RPG (rocket- propelled grenade) fire everywhere and bullets whizzing round left, right and centre. They were clearly well prepared and had stockpiled weapons at different positions.

“They were using buildings with their windows knocked out, and were hiding in side alleys. Every time they fired, we could pick them out.

“I am not sure how many rocket-propelled grenades were fired at us, but there were certainly more than 20. Seven were fired directly at us. I could see the Iraqis darting out and scurrying around between their positions. Some were firing from only 20 to 30 metres away. We were replying and there was some pretty heavy fire going down.”

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