Everywhere around the city army personnel guard key buildings, road intersections and important landmarks. Most of the guards look very bored, play on their cell phones and one guard even sings - not just humming a tune, but full out singing - I think he must be in a band. However, I have had real doubts just how effective they would be in a crisis. Yesterday I found out.
Wandering back down Salim Street I was directly across the road from the PUK headquarters when a car came to stop right on a no-parking zone next to me. The car was really old, probably driven by an Iranian or a Syrian, but the three guards outside the PUK sprang immediately into action.
One guard dashed across the street, while the other two quickly moved into position to cover him. Within a minute he had the driver out of the car and frisked him for weapons and bombs and within another minute he made the owner open up the boot, bonnet and all doors to check the car for weapons or bombs (they make the driver open all the doors in case they are bobby trapped). Satisfied that the car was not a threat, the guard still made the guy push his car down the road - not quite as bad as it seemed as it was down hill.
I did feel sorry for the poor skinny guy whose crappy old car just broke down in the wrong place....
Later it did occur to me that if the car was a bomb, I was really a bit stupid to just stand there gawping at the drama in front of me. Had that car exploded, I would have been scattered down the entire length of Salim Street.
And finally these are the mug shots of three guys arrested after the Hawler bombing last month. They are all Arabs from Mosul and I have to say
they do actually look like terrorists.
Wandering back down Salim Street I was directly across the road from the PUK headquarters when a car came to stop right on a no-parking zone next to me. The car was really old, probably driven by an Iranian or a Syrian, but the three guards outside the PUK sprang immediately into action.
One guard dashed across the street, while the other two quickly moved into position to cover him. Within a minute he had the driver out of the car and frisked him for weapons and bombs and within another minute he made the owner open up the boot, bonnet and all doors to check the car for weapons or bombs (they make the driver open all the doors in case they are bobby trapped). Satisfied that the car was not a threat, the guard still made the guy push his car down the road - not quite as bad as it seemed as it was down hill.
I did feel sorry for the poor skinny guy whose crappy old car just broke down in the wrong place....
Later it did occur to me that if the car was a bomb, I was really a bit stupid to just stand there gawping at the drama in front of me. Had that car exploded, I would have been scattered down the entire length of Salim Street.
And finally these are the mug shots of three guys arrested after the Hawler bombing last month. They are all Arabs from Mosul and I have to saythey do actually look like terrorists.
No comments:
Post a Comment