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BASRA, Iraq (CNN) -- British commanders said it appeared a popular uprising against the ruling Baath Party was under way in Basra as British troops and tanks were maneuvering under the cover of darkness near the southern Iraq city.

Juliet Bremner, a correspondent with the British network ITV with troops outside the city, said the commanders told her they had seen groups of 40 to 50 citizens at various locations on the streets and that British forces had taken out an Iraqi mortar that had been firing on the apparent protesters.

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Earlier Tuesday, British forces repelled a battalion-size counterattack in Basra.

They also seized a top Baath Party official -- a move meant to inspire a popular uprising, said Col. Chris Vernon, British military spokesman in Kuwait City. 20 Iraqi militia members were killed in the raid, Vernon said.

"Whap, we're in. Whap, we're out, and 20 of them are gone," Vernon said.

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Coalition forces have begun trucking water from Umm Qasr, now under British control, to Basra. The International Red Cross said 40 percent of Basra's water supply has been restored, according to U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Victor Renuart. Once coalition forces better secure cities north of Umm Qasr, such as Basra and Nasiriya, they will start delivering food, Renuart said at U.S. Central Command briefing in Qatar.

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