Iraq: Baghdad alcohol sellers intimidated by bombs

Bombs damaged three shops known for selling alcohol in a commercial district of downtown Baghdad early on May 16 in what may have been the latest attack by militants seeking to impose Islamic customs in Iraq, Reuters announced May 16.

The sequence of explosions at dawn in the Karrada shopping district wrecked the stores' frontages and, in one case, an advertising display for beer.

Police said no one was hurt as the streets were largely deserted at that hour, just before 6 a.m.

They had no immediate comment on the motive. Violence driven by business rivalry is also not unknown in Baghdad.

But, many from Iraq's Christian minority, have been intimidated by Islamist militants on both sides of the Sunni-Shi'ite sectarian divide, driving many out of business or pushing the trade underground in a city once noted, under the secular rule of Saddam Hussein, for its nightlife and liberal social culture.

Among other aspects of a new emphasis on Muslim traditions are the increased wearing of veils and headscarves by women in public - a cause of complaint among some women's rights groups - and proclamations by militants threatening those who do not observe conservative dress and moral codes.

Though a new, U.S.-sponsored constitution introduced last year makes Islamic law a main reference for legislation, no new restrictions have been imposed on the sale of alcohol, as is common in other Muslim countries, or on other social customs.

Though Islamist parties dominate the national unity government that is in the process of formation this week, it is unclear whether the new ministers will seek to change that.

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