The Iraqi capital saw large scenes of looting

By Imam El-Liethy, IOL Iraq Correspondent

BAGHDAD, April 27 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – More than two weeks after the downfall of Baghdad into the hands of U.S. and British forces, gangs of organized thieves and looters did not find it enough to claim control over luxurious buildings of the deposed Iraqi regime members with impunity; but also to trade in them – with the lowest prices possible.

But gangs resort to foreign, namely British, experience to run their work of racketeering even this IslamOnline.net reporter fell prey to.

In Abu Nawas Street on the Tigris, where the Presidential Palace and the houses of the former leaders of the Republican Guard are located, a lot of signs reading "the building occupied" were hoisted.

The thieves felt free to rent these houses, even to their real owners who were booted out by Kalashnikov-armed guards employed by the new occupiers.

Many of the owners found it better to cooperate with their thieves by paying them ransoms. Others found no other way but to "rent" their own houses from thieves who broke into them and burnt all of possession documents or contracts.

"I have a villa in the street, but I left it to another area 100 kilometers north west of Baghdad when the U.S. and British warplanes intensified shelling of the capital," one of the Iraqis recalled.

"But after the end of war, I came back to find the villa occupied by thieves. I decided to stay away from confronting them," he added, pinning hopes on a new administration to be formed in order to restore his property.

Many of the Iraqis have borne the brunt of anarchy and chaos the country descended into after the end of war. But they largely blamed these acts on the U.S. forces for turning a blind eye of them and only rushed to encircle the Oil Ministry headquarters for providing  protection.

While other buildings, including the unique Iraqi National Museum which contain irreplaceable artifacts going back to 10,000 years, were open targets to pillaging. 

"They abandoned these buildings and left Baghdad crumble. So why not we house them?" A Kalashnikov-armed Samir Munjid bragged outside one of the seized houses, echoing similar conspiracy theory explanation of the defeat of the capital to no fight.

He offered me to rent the house, with usual comfortable statements as "The Iraqi government will never be formed before tow or three years".

But staying in these places mainly need the use of force to maintain a grip on them.

Even the building of the Baghdad police Center suffered the same fate, with looters divided its rooms; with signs outside reading "Family house. Don't disturb" and "Fully occupied" that appeared on one of the military posts.

Noticeably, the thieves are confident the American forces will stand behind them.

"The Americans would pay us large sums of money, at the worst, before taking these buildings," said Qadri Qassem.

The thieves even made rules for them to follow. For example, no one should put a hand on a more than 200-metre swathe of land that is not his own.

Returning to my hotel tired of many of such of these stories, I found my room looted.

"Sorry sir, we mistook the keys and gave yours to a British reporter who stole your things," claimed the receptionist.

I hurried to the room to find only some food cans lost and the door was broken.

The  thief seeming was as angry not to think of taking other more precious things as a mobile computer. Thank God!