Savoring Baghdad, Where Each Night Is a Battle

A new round of bombings has not shaken some Iraqis’ resolve to reclaim their capital at night. The Karada neighborhood is relatively stable.

By JACK HEALY
NYT

BAGHDAD — Who owns the Iraqi night?

As Iraq’s violence ebbed, it seemed that the country’s tea-sipping, hookah-smoking revelers had reclaimed the evening hours, casting off the siege mentality of the war’s worst days as they repopulated nightclubs, speakeasies and public parks.

Then came a recent barrage of attacks that clawed apart scenes of Iraq’s reawakened nightlife. Insurgents blew up restaurants and cafes, public squares and shopping stalls, in what felt to many Iraqis like a deliberate attempt to drive them back behind their front gates after the sun sets.

And so, a new struggle for Iraq’s nightlife has begun to play out in Baghdad. It pits the resolve of Iraqis to stroll their streets against insurgents who have used car bombs, suicide vests and automatic weapons to stalk them where they unwind.

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