A family seek the help of a soldier from 1st Battalion The Irish Guards to locate their other child caught up in the panic caused by small arms fire, Basra, March 2003

Digital photograph taken by WO2 Giles Penfound, Army Media Operations, Operation TELIC, 30 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 into the surrounding region, establishing checkpoints on the roads into Basra and then entering the city itself.