Iraq Bomber Aimed at Alcohol Sellers (so much for "normalcy")

[ProSense]

Iraq Bomber Aimed at Alcohol Sellers

A car bombing aimed at alcohol sellers on Thursday in one of Baghdad’s most heavily protected areas.

By STEPHEN FARRELL
Published: December 21, 2007

BAGHDAD — Blood and ouzo mingled on the sidewalk outside a shattered Baghdad liquor store on Thursday after three people died in a car bombing targeting alcohol sellers in one of Baghdad’s most heavily protected areas.

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“There are explosions everywhere,” said a Mr. Ahmed, gesturing to the heavens. “We believe in God.”. The wreckage came to rest incongruously alongside 10-foot-high concrete blast walls that had been brightly painted with tranquil scenes of camels and marshland waterways as part of an American-funded beautification effort.

Residents said the bomber parked his car outside one of the two dozen liquor stores in the area and walked away before setting it off, apparently using a timer or remote control. A passing Chevrolet Suburban took the full impact, and its passengers were likely to be among the dead or the 27 the Iraqi police reported wounded. “There’s nothing left to be targeted here, only poor people who buy alcohol and the unfortunate family in the Suburban,” said one Iraqi policeman guarding the scene. “They were only passing by and got caught up in a tragedy on Id, which is supposed to be a happy day.”

It was unclear which of the factions fighting bitterly in Iraq might have been responsible. Shiite militias and Sunni insurgents are united in their disapproval of alcohol.

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Most of these businesses, residents say, are run by enterprising Yazidis, members of a Kurdish-speaking sect that is one of the most distinctive in the region. Iraq’s Yazidis live mainly in the northwest and their faith, combines elements of Zoroastrianism, Jewish, Christian and Islamic elements and includes a Peacock Angel.

Residents say the Yazidis capitalized on the last few months of relative stability to take over the alcohol stores in this area. Christians once dominated the trade locally but fled to escape death threats and kidnappings by religious fanatics.

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Baghdad regaining sense of normalcy:

In the most stable neighborhoods of Baghdad, some secular women are also dressing as they wish. Wedding bands are playing in public again, and at a handful of once shuttered liquor stores, customers now line up outside in a collective rebuke to religious vigilantes from the Shiite Mahdi army.