Soldiers serving with the 1st Battalion Irish Guards at a checkpoint near Basra, Iraq, March 2003

Digital photograph taken by Warrant Officer 2nd Class Giles Penfound, Army Media Operations, Operation TELIC, 28 March 2003.

The invasion of Iraq began on 20 March 2003 and within four days British troops had taken Basra's airport, despite encountering significant Iraqi resistance. They soon began expanding their area of control in the surrounding region, establishing checkpoints on the roads into Basra city.