Colonel Chris Vernon told reporters that British tanks had moved into the besieged city in the south, the center and north.

"We control the vast majority of the city," he said. "But there are some places we don't control, for example the old city."

British tanks were earlier seen rolling into the centre of Basra, which had been encircled by British and US troops for 10 days. But British spokesmen initially described the movement as a probing foray.

SPACE.WIRE