The U.S. Defense Department said before the Iraqi troops arrived in the city criminals had taken over Basra.

"This city was being held hostage by a small group of criminal militias," said U.S. Marine Corps Col. Robert Castellvi, military training team adviser for 1st Iraqi Army Quick Reaction Force.

Among other things, thugs in the city barred music and Western influence; women faced death threats if they ventured outside their homes dressed in anything other than a full burkah; and intersections were used as mortar positions, the military said in a statement.

"The people are happier now," said Marine Corps Maj. Robert S. Washington, senior military transition team adviser for 2nd Battalion, Quick Reaction Force 1. "They can go out; they can go to the markets."