A new era in Basra
Iraqi Interior Ministry forces carry out checks in the southern port city of Basra this month. A crackdown launched by Prime Minister Nouri Maliki has helped calm violence in the port city, where rival criminal gangs and militias had fought for control of oil resources and smuggling routes. (Essam al-Sudani / AFP/Getty Images)
Girls walk past a clothing store in Basra a month after the Iraqi crackdown was launched against criminal gangs and Shiite militias. Fundamentalist groups had spread fear in the city, targeting co-ed groups and women who didn’t cover their heads. But since the operation, music stores are reopening, people are holding parties and alcohol is being sold again, albeit surreptitiously. (Essam al-Sudani / AFP/Getty Images)
Girls browse a clothing store in Basra. Since the crackdown, with the tide of fundamentalism rolled back young people are less wary of mixing and hanging out at local spots, such as the corniche along the Shatt al Arab waterway. At Basra’s university, cellphones ring out pop tunes from Arabic singers and teeny-bopper bands such as the Backstreet Boys. (Essam al-Sudani / AFP/Getty Images)
An oil tanker, Episkopi, is docked at the Basra oil terminal, in Persian Gulf waters. The city is the key hub for Iraqi oil exports and is plagued by oil smuggling. Parties had been jostling for position ahead of scheduled provincial elections in the fall, and some groups alleged that Maliki’s crackdown was intended to strengthen the position of his allies, the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council. (Kamran Jebreili / Associated Press)
