As Baghdad lifts curfew, bombs are reminder of country at war

By Saif Hameed and Stephen Kalin
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Five blasts across Baghdad
on Saturday tempered Iraqis' anticipation of a
more relaxed and accessible capital as the
government prepared to lift a night-time curfew
that has kept the city on a war-time footing for
more than a decade.
At least 37 people, mostly civilians, were killed in
the explosions, security and medical sources
said, and dozens of others were wounded.
The attacks included a suicide bombing at a
restaurant in a Shi'ite neighborhood and
improvised explosives devices planted in a
bustling central market district, underscoring the
peril ordinary people still face from militant
violence in Baghdad.
Bombings have waned and waxed for nearly 12
years, but they have not ceased since the U.S.-
led invasion to topple Saddam Hussein in 2003.
Ending the curfew and "demilitarizing" several
neighborhoods is part of a campaign to
normalize life in Iraq's war-blighted capital.
Officials hope to demonstrate that Baghdad no
longer faces a threat from Islamic State, the
militant group which seized large areas of
northern and western Iraq last year.
Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, a moderate
Shi'ite Islamist who took office in September,
has struggled to develop a broad support base.
Improving quality of life in Baghdad could
represent a small but tangible achievement as
he seeks to turn back the tide against Islamic
State while mending rifts between polarized
sectarian communities that have stoked
violence.
"This will benefit us greatly, because we have
felt imprisoned for the past 11 years," a shopper
in the central Karrada district said hours before
the curfew was set to end.
"This is the bravest decision that Haider al-Abadi
has taken. This shows that the country is
somewhat safe."
Interior ministry spokesman Brigadier General
Saad Maan said he did not believe Saturday's
explosions were linked to the government's
decision this week to lift the midnight (1600 ET)
to 5 a.m. curfew on Saturday at midnight.
Security forces pressed ahead with plans to end
the curfew, setting up mobile checkpoints to
forestall bombings and criminal acts like
kidnapping, which has became more common
since last summer.
STILL CAUTIOUS
The curfew has become a fact of life in Baghdad,
as have the towering gray blast walls around
many buildings and checkpoints that have
curtailed commercial and civilian movement.
Residents often complain of having to wait in
long lines of traffic at checkpoints on major
roads and at the entrances to many
neighborhoods, while politicians' convoys speed
through the city with armed guards.
Last week's decisions mean heavy weapons will
be banned from specified districts and some
checkpoints closed.
Residents awaited the end of the curfew on
Saturday evening with a mixture of anticipation
and fear.
The bombings earlier in the day and in recent
weeks reinforced fears among some that the
end of the curfew would spark more attacks.
"You can see that things are not as good as
before. Bombings are coming back," said Anwar,
25, a shop owner in Shourja, near the site of
Saturday's market blast.
A former soldier in the eastern Adhamiya district
criticized the decision to lift the curfew, saying it
would give criminal gangs more freedom to
operate.
"They couldn't control them at day, what about
night-time?" he said, declining to be named.
Others, though still cautious, were taking
advantage of having one of Baghdad's many
restraints eliminated.
"Removing the curfew is bad because it strains
the security forces and we have to be more
alert now," said a volunteer paramilitary fighter
outside a night club on the banks of the Tigris
River.
"I'm taking my leave now so I come here for a
few hours of relief and to forget that I have to
go to work again."
(Additional reporting by Ned Parker; Editing by
Gareth Jones and David Gregorio)