page_title: Battle of Basra (2008)
section_title: 31 March
hierarchical_section_title: Battle of Basra (2008) / Timeline of the battle / 31 March
caption_attribution_description: Members of the Iraqi Army board an Iraqi C-130 Hercules for a flight to Basra, Iraq at New Al Muthana Air Base in Baghdad on Mar. 30. All processing, loading and transporting of the Iraqi troops was conducted by the Iraqi Air Force.
context_page_description: The Battle of Basra began on 25 March 2008, when the Iraqi Army launched an operation to drive the Mahdi Army militia out of the southern Iraqi city of Basra. The operation was the first major operation to be planned and carried out by the Iraqi Army since the invasion of 2003.
  Coalition and Iraqi aircraft patrolled the skies above Basra providing intelligence and carrying out air strikes in support of Iraqi forces on the ground. Coalition forces provided embedded military transition teams in Iraqi Army units and American special forces also conducted joint operations with ISOF units.
  Iraqi forces faced heavy resistance from Mahdi Army militia inside the city and the offensive stalled, requiring American and British air and artillery support, eventually resulting in a stand-off. More than 1,000 casualties resulted in six days of heavy fighting.
  Following a ceasefire negotiated in Iran on 31 March, Muqtada al-Sadr withdrew his fighters from the streets, but had gained a major political victory.
context_section_description: Following the ceasefire, armed Mahdi Army militiamen no longer openly appeared on the streets and Basra appeared to be returning to normal with shops and schools starting to reopen. The commander of the 14th Division, Major-General Mohammed Jawan Huweidi, said his forces had control of the towns around Basra, as well as inside the city. He reported that his troops were now beginning to clear roadside bombs in the city. According to a spokesman for Nouri Al Maliki, Iraqi troops and police were in control of much of Basra, and local security forces were going house-to-house in some districts to confiscate weapons.
  Time magazine reported that there had been "a large-scale retreat of the Mahdi Army in the oil-rich Iraqi port city because of low morale and because ammunition was low due to the closure of the Iranian border." A US military officer confirmed that assessment to the Long War Journal, saying "In short [the Mahdi Army] had no ability to sustain the effort".
  Nouri al-Maliki said security operations against "criminals and terrorist activities" would continue in Basra. The Iraqi defense spokesman said that reinforcements were being sent to Basra and preparations for fresh military operations to clear the city were being made.
  According to a US military statement, Iraqi Special Forces raided a school being used by "criminals" to store weapons, ammunition and explosives. The special forces, supported by US special forces and Coalition aircraft, killed 14 of the criminals and released six Iraqi soldiers being held at the school.
caption: Members of the Iraqi Army board an Iraqi C-130 Hercules for a flight to Basra, Iraq at New Al Muthana Air Base in Baghdad on 30 Mar.
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