Baghdad

There were no immediate reports of casualties from the strikes and no claim of responsibility, two police officers said.

When Shia leader Muqtada al-Sadr announced his retirement on August 29, his supporters subjected Baghdad to its worst bout of violence in years.

The Iraqi Jewish Archive is now at grave risk at the hands of an Iraqi government that has criminalized relations with Jewish people.

The unrest began with two days of intense street fighting in Baghdad earlier in the week, the worst the Iraqi capital has seen for years.

Violent clashes erupted in Iraq's Republican Palace in the heavily protected Green Zone after the powerful Shi'ite cleric announced he would fully withdraw from politics.

Iraq lurched into crisis again, as it does every month, with endless crises and tragedies in Baghdad which can only help Iran.

Millions of Iranians travel to the Iraqi city of Kerbala every year for the ritual of Arbaeen, which marks the end of a 40-day mourning period for the grandson of the Prophet Mohammad, Imam Hussein.

Streets were mostly empty of ordinary people as gunmen cruised in pickup trucks carrying machine guns and brandishing grenade launchers.

Iraq has been swept by political turmoil in the past year as all sides failed to form a government coalition.

“Some areas are more expensive than Dubai and London,” real estate broker Mohsen al-Hamid said.