Baghdad gun shops thrive after Iraqi rethink on arms control

A man checks a weapon before he buys at a weapons shop in Baghdad, Iraq, August 11, 2018. REUTERS/Wissm al-Okili

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - In the middle of Baghdad's busy commercial neighbourhood of Karrada, where most retail outlets sell home appliances, shoppers can now also buy handguns and semi-automatic rifles legally for the first time in decades.

After the toppling of Saddam Hussein in 2003, illegal weapons trade flourished across the country. Looted guns from ransacked police stations and military bases were sold in streets and public areas to residents seeking to protect themselves in a state that was largely lawless.