A soldier from 1st Battalion The Irish Guards resting with his mug of tea, Basra, 2003

Digital photograph taken by WO2 Giles Penfound, Army Media Operations, Operation TELIC, 3 April 2003.

The guardsman was pictured enjoying a brew after a successful raid on a large complex on the outskirts of Basra. 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. By 6 April, British Commanders judged that conditions were right to enter Basra itself in strength. They launched assaults from three directions, encountering only patchy resistance, and stormed the Ba'ath Party headquarters. In this image, a large portrait of the Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein can be seen in the background.