Mayhem in the south too

摘要

The noise of a mortar round, like an incoming train, startles a bunch of contractors and aid workers waiting for their helicopter flight out of the British diplomatic compound in Basra, sending them and your correspondent scrambling for cover. This-and the array of other projectiles that have whizzed over the riverside palace complex in the past few nights-is presumed to be the Mahdi Army's revenge for the arrest of their local commander by British soldiers a few days before.