Brits Save Iraqis From Saddam's Killers
Knight Ridder Newspapers reported today: "Iraqi troops fired machine guns and artillery shells at several hundred families fleeing Basra on Sunday, triggering a shootout with British soldiers that pinned down terrified refugees in the cross-fire.
"Mothers in black Islamic garments clutched crying babies to their chests. Young men tightly held the hands of their grandmothers. And an old, sun-weathered man with a cane briefly looked to the heavens and yelled, 'Allah. God help me.' ...
"As bullets and shells flew over their heads, the refugees huddled together in fear. Plumes of black smoke rose behind them as British Challenger tanks fired back at the Iraqi fighters a half-mile away.
"When the Iraqi paramilitary men returned another artillery round, the refugees got up and flooded toward the British checkpoint, screaming and crying."
