Basra:: David Willis :: 1303 GMT

American and British marines now seem confident that they've secured Iraq's second-largest city, Basra. Intermittent shelling continued around the port city throughout the morning. Troops are now securing the city's vast oil fields, although some have been set ablaze.

Giant plumes of smoke dominate the horizon of this historic city; in what looks like an eerie repeat of the last Gulf War, oil fields are ablaze. As we arrived in Basra, I counted half a dozen oil fields billowing smoke and flame.

Coming into Basra as part of a massive military convoy, I encountered a stream of young men, dressed in what appeared to be Iraqi army uniforms, applauding the American marines as they swept past in tanks. American predictions that many here would choose to surrender rather than fight appear to have come true.