BAGHDAD — Alaa Thani walked through the blackened shell of the Iraqi Ministry of Trade last week, raising puffs of ash as he nudged bits of metal and concrete with his foot. “The Americans did this,” the 27-year-old construction worker said. “You see there is no furniture? They stole it. Then they set fire to … More Inflammatory rumors spark anti-American backlash

BAGHDAD — In a country where the visage of Saddam Hussein once smiled, scowled and stared imperiously from murals and buildings along nearly every street, television never offered much of a respite. Four TV channels, all state-run, beamed the government line directly into homes, extolling the glories of the Iraqi leader in news reports and … More Iraq’s hottest new dish

BAGHDAD — Five men stood in a circle outside police headquarters here yesterday, somberly comparing notes on the day’s devastation. “Any dead?” Daniel Joseph asked. “Two guards were killed,” Albert Paul Younan replied. “I lost three,” Joseph said. “What about the factory?” another man asked. “Destroyed,” Joseph said. “What they couldn’t take, they burned.” The … More Armed mobs destroying Baghdad-area distilleries

BAGHDAD — Two weeks ago, Raad Karim Essa arrived home from work to find his furniture on the street. His Muslim landlord wasn’t renting to Christians anymore. “He told us not to argue and threatened us,” said Essa, 42, a father of four. “He said the government was no longer here to protect us. What … More Shi’a power worries Christian minority

BAGHDAD — The men burst into the house before dawn, stabbing some people as they slept, shooting others who tried to run. In less than five minutes last Tuesday, Karim Salih’s family was slaughtered. Five brothers, his father and a sister were killed. Salih and a 9-year-old sister survived the attack by hiding in a … More In lawless Baghdad, police are powerless

  BAGHDAD — Omran Mussa slumped in his car, sweat beading on his mustache under a withering afternoon sun. For three hours, he had waited in line to buy gas, burning precious fuel each time he cranked the engine to advance 15 feet. Now he was two short car-lengths from the pumps. He was about … More Waiting on empty: Amid dire gas shortage, tempers fray

BAGHDAD — For the first time in more than six weeks, Lina Elia put chalk to blackboard yesterday, diagramming the circumference of a circle. The sixth-grade math teacher had only four students in her class at Al-Bidur Primary School, but it was a start. “Tomorrow,” Elia said, clasping her hands in silent prayer. “Maybe tomorrow … More Iraq’s back-to-school pains

BAGHDAD — Rahim Muhammed stood alone at the edge of a 40-foot pit, hands clasped behind his back, in silent contemplation. He looked down on broken concrete blocks, a twisted bed frame, the shattered remains of a television and unidentifiable bits and scraps of human habitation. Fixing his eyes on a child’s blackened doll, Muhammed … More Crater compels Iraqis to visit and to reflect