British forces battle Iraqi militia within Basra

British forces battling to take control Basra are still facing resistance from around 1,000 Iraqi militia, along with regular troops.

British forces battling to take control of the main southern city of Basra are still facing resistance from around 1,000 Iraqi militia, along with regular troops who have moved back into the city, a British military spokesman said on Thursday.

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"There are somewhere around a thousand, but it may be more," Colonel Chris Vernon told reporters when asked the size of the irregular forces within the city.

"It's quite clear that elements of (the Iraqi army's) 51 brigade that we gave an opportunity to capitulate have pulled back inside," he added.

Vernon said that the British had no immediate plans to launch an all-out assault on the city but they were able to stage incursions on a regular basis.

"We are in and out as we see fit. We will go in, come out, and one day we will stay."

He denied that British troops were besieging Basra, saying that a passage in the northeast of the city over the Tigris river had been left "entirely open".

Vernon admitted that such a policy could allow Iraqis to attempt to move reinforcements but he added that "we have got eyes on that area".