US forces engaged in a firefight north of Baghdad while British forces came under fire in the southern city of Basra, Brigadier-General Vincent Brooks said at Centcom's war headquarters at As-Saliyah, Qatar.

"The arrival of the Fourth Infantry Division's land component operations in the area included a brief firefight in the vicinity of Taji airfield north of Baghdad," he said at a news conference.

"The engagement of the Fourth Infantry Division forces killed and wounded a portion of the enemy forces, destroyed some T-72 tanks and captured over 100 enemy fighters," the general said.

"The enemy force also had unmanned artillery pieces, armoured personnel carriers, loaded rocket launcher systems at a warehouse, and a number of computers. The site and the materials have been secured for further exploitation and examination," he said.

"The coalition force declared the airfield clear of enemy force and continued its attack to the north, encountering sporadic small arms fire and snipers," Brooks said.

"In the UK sector of southern Iraq, patrols were attacked by rocket propelled grenades near a bridge in Basra," he said.

SPACE.WIRE