CAIRO, April 3, 2006 (IslamOnline.net) – After three years of occupation, Iraq has turned into a "weapons bazaar", with most Iraqis racing to buy pieces of pistols, carbines or rifles to defend themselves against tit-for-tat sectarian assaults, The New York Times reported Monday, April 3.

"I don't believe anyone can protect me. Not the Americans, not my government," said Ms. Janabi, a television journalist.

Ms. Janabi, from a Shiite family in central Baghdad, sought to buy a pistol to defend herself following the latest spree of sectarian killings in the war-torn country.

"Now, each day, when I go to work, I fear I might not come home," she said.

Up to 450 civilians, mostly Sunnis, were killed and 81 Sunni mosques targeted, including eight completely destroyed, in reprisal attacks triggered by the bombing of the Imam Ali Al-Hadi in Samarra.

Since then, gun sales have been booming in the country with more Iraqis buying, carrying and stockpiling weapons.

Paul Bremer, the former US overseer in Iraq, had issued an order allowing obtaining firearms including an AK-47, the world's most popular killing machine, for everyone 25 and older with a "good reputation and character."

Haidar Hussein, a Baghdad bookseller, has also bought a fully automatic assault rifle and has been teaching his wife how to shoot.

"Maybe I'm kidding myself, but having a gun makes me feel safer," he said.

Ever since US tanks rolled into Baghdad in March 2003, the country has plunged into lawlessness with looting, carjacking and kidnapping turning into a daily routine.

Kidnappings have become a lucrative industry, with up to 40 Iraqis being abducted every day by armed gangs for an average ransom of 30,000 dollars per person.

This has pushed more people to arm themselves.

Office clerks started strapping leather holsters under their armpits, and elderly, veiled women started stashing Kalashnikovs under their beds.

Hussein Abdul Khaliq, a member of Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army, proudly flashes a AK-47, though having no permit to do so.

He even had many more than the authorized limit of 50 rounds. He was well below the minimum age of 25 for carrying a gun.

"Let them try to take it from me," said the muscular 17-year-old in defiance, pointing to a police patrol in sight.

The Iraqis' seemingly urgent need to arm themselves has sent weapons prices sky high.

The average price for a Russian-made Kalashnikov AK-47 assault rifle has jumped to $290 from $112 in the past month, according to several gun dealers.

Bullets have also climbed to 33 cents each from 24 cents. Hand grenades, which are not legal but are easy to get, run $95.

"I didn't like to do it, but I had to raise prices," an arms seller, who identified himself as Abu Abdullah, told The New York Times.

Weapons cargoes have been flooding into Iraq from many different places.

Several dealers said former Iraqi Army soldiers were a reliable source of grenades.

The US military has also added to the arsenal, by shipping in hundreds of thousands of firearms and millions of rounds of ammunition, in an effort to equip the fledging Iraqi security forces.

US Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad said on Saturday, March 25, that militias, many with strong ties to powerful Shiite leaders and well entrenched in security and police forces, are killing more Iraqis than "terrorists".