Three Seersucker missiles -- adapted anti-ship, Chinese-made weapons -- sailed over the heads of the British soldiers to land in empty desert, the reporters said.

A specialist in unconventional weapons attached to the Royal Commandos said the missile launches posed very little danger to the British forces.

"The Seersucker is much, much smaller than a Scud and we don't think it can be converted to carry any significant NBC (nuclear-biological-chemical) payload," he said.

He added that the missiles were flying "blind" because the Iraqis had not activated their radar guidance out of fear that the emissions would be picked up by coalition aircraft and destroyed.

The use of the missiles, though, appeared to underline the desperation of the Iraqi military and paramilitary units loyal to President Saddam Hussein in Basra to strike out at the British forces encircling the city.

Up to now, the British soldiers, tanks and artillery have been concentrating on the outskirts of Basra, taking "bite-sized chunks" of outer suburbs and assimilated towns in the words of one British military spokesman Tuesday.

A US military spokeswoman said Wednesday "the mission is continuing" with artillery shelling of Iraqi positions in the city and British checkpoints to stop the inflow of any weapons.

But Iraq's defence minister, Hashim Ahmad, told journalists in Baghdad that Iraqi forces had killed 19 coalition soldiers and shot down three helicopters around Basra on Tuesday.

He also charged that British troops were firing on Iraqi civilians, an accusation denied by British officials.

British forces have so far put off an all-out assault on Basra, preferring to bolster their ranks and concentrate propaganda leaflet drops and radio broadcasts on the city in a bid to sap resistance and spark an anti-government uprising.

SPACE.WIRE