IRAQ. Baghdad. 2006. Al-A’amiriya during a large operation to clear the neighborhood of insurgents. These operations were well
publicized, and the insurgents would leave to wait them out. A few fruitless days would be spent searching
for arms and insurgents while the residents took the opportunity to leave their homes. After the mosque
bombing in Sammara launched a sectarian war, there were daily insurgent attacks and the streets of Al-
A’amiriya were nearly empty. Decapitated bodies half-eaten by dogs regularly appeared: the victims of Shiite
death squads. After the clearing operations, American and Iraqi forces reduced to normal strength, and
violence increased to previous levels.