British forces have said taking Iraq's southern city of Basra has now become a military objective in order to get humanitarian aid to civilians there. The BBC's Tim Franks, who is on the Iraq-Kuwait border, says Iraq is reinforcing the city from the north and fighting there is intensifying. On Monday, the UK's Seventh Armoured Brigade, the Desert Rats, were involved in nearly a dozen artillery engagements on the outskirts of Basra, targeting Iraqi mortars and tanks. The United Nations has warned of a potential humanitarian crisis in Iraq's second city, which is home to 1.5 million people. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/2882967.stm ALSO: British forces have destroyed up to seven Iraqi tanks on the edge of Basra, a British naval commander has said. Captain Alan Massey, of the flagship aircraft carrier Ark Royal, said British light tanks, helped by small helicopter gunships and surveillance helicopters, had been battling a breakout by up to 50 Iraqi tanks. http://www.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30000-1085008,00.html
