"The battle is more or less over now," Lieutenant Colonel Hugh Blackman of the 7th Armoured Brigade told reporters here.

"We are covering all the areas of Basra, including the old city. There are soldiers and armoured vehicles inside (the old city) right now."

The British have been making regular incursions into Basra over the last few days but it was the first time that they had been able to move into the old town.

"There are 4,000 soldiers, 200 tanks and hundreds of armoured vehicles in Basra," said Blackman.

British soldiers seized control of Basra university from Iraqi militiamen from where they had been firing on British positions.

"The university was a trouble spot," said Captain Guy Gatenby.

Rocket-propelled grenades and Kalashnikovs littered the ground around the bodies of the soldiers, who were dressed in a combination of civilian and military clothing.

Royal Marines also seized Monday the huge presidential palace in Basra, a correspondent with the troops said.

Men from 42 Commando entered the complex on the banks of the Shatt Al-Arab waterway at first light in the the culmination of a massive operation which began Sunday to take control of Basra.

British Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon had earlier said that the troops now in Basra were there to stay".

SPACE.WIRE